Beyond the Clans: Leafpool & Crowfeather's Story
by Fiction lover14
Summary: Leafpool & Crowfeather leave the clans to be together while Squirrelflight tries to reunite them & their clans. My first fic,so enjoy! Warriors are Erin Hunter's, this story is mine.
1. Chapter 1

This is a story about what could have happened if Crowfeather and Leafpool had run away for good and started a life together instead of going back home to the badger attack. Keep in mind that this is my first posting so it may not be my best. This story is expressly my point of view and is subject to the interpretation of others. Happy reading!

* * *

**Beyond the Clans  
Chapter 1**

A soft breeze ruffled the grass sending ripples across the rolling hills. The sweet scent of heather permeated the air along with subtler intones of rabbit and the occasional mouse. All this was easily taken in by the cat's knowing eyes and sensitive nose. It's whiskers twitched slightly, anxious in waiting. Suddenly, his ears pricked in interest. There she was! A soft rustle of undergrowth accompanied by her sweet scent. His heart beat faster and he sat up in anticipation.

She slid into view, graceful and alert. He could see the worry on her face smooth away at the sight of him. He could hear the rapid pulse of her heartbeat quicken. And then she was upon him, nuzzling him gently and letting out a purr of contentment. Their pleasure was undeniable, but the tender moment was short-lived.

She pulled away, suddenly wary, "Crowfeather. We can't do this. I can't live like this! I've had a sign from Starclan. I've been thinking about what you told me. It's time for us to leave. We can be together or we can separate forever. We can't have both."

He stared at her, eyes wide and intent, focused on her. "Leafpool, I love you more than I thought possible, I never thought I would even be able to love again. Every moment away from you would be a reminder of what I gave up... Please come with me. We can go far away and be together without opposition."

Leafpool looked into his eyes, reluctance clear. She loved him so much she thought she would burst. He was there in her mind all the time, distracting her, but making her so happy that she practically sang... Why couldn't things be different? But they weren't and she had to choose now. Her father would be so disappointed and then there was her sister, Squirrelflight... But Crowfeather was there and she couldn't stand to go back without him! Spotted leaf had told her to follow her heart, wasn't this the way? Her love came from the heart and he matched her so perfectly... "I'll come with you Crowfeather,"

She could have laughed at the relief and joy that flooded his expression, but there were more pressing matters. "Where will we go? If I stay out much longer, they'll come looking for me and we'll never be together!"

His answer came quickly; this had obviously been on his mind as well. "We can go off into the hills, beyond Windclan territory; they'll never find us there and we can be safe and happy!"

His enthusiasm filled her and her paws seemed to lift of the ground. She began sprinting north towards the hills and he dashed up beside her. They ran and ran, filled with happiness, reveling in their new found freedom, flying across the ground without fear or reserve. And then they slowed. They were far from their meeting place now, on the outskirts of Windclan territory. They looked down from their perch, breathless, as the first glimmer of dawn lit the lake on fire. They smiled down together, tails entwined as they shared the breathtaking moment together.

* * *

Squirrelflight's breath came in quick gasps. She could feel scabs forming but she didn't have time to rest. Cinderpelt; dead! She could scarcely believe it! And Leafpool was gone, swallowed somewhere in Windclan while her mentor lay dead in the remains of the nursery. And Squirrelflight was left to deal with this alone. She padded over to Brambleclaw, who was staring in shock at Cinderpelt's limp body.

She nuzzled his shoulder, taking in the extent of his wounds. There was nothing serious there, but without a medicine cat... She sighed. Brightheart was the only "medicine cat" they had left and her knowledge was scarcely enough to cover minor wounds, let alone all the serious gashes her clanmates were now sporting. Brambleclaw shifted away from her. He walked over to Firestar and began a murmur of conversation. A few moments later Brambleclaw was sitting in front of her, talking softly.

"Firestar says the damage is overwhelming. We need to catch up with Onestar and see if they can spare Barkface. Its times like these we need a good medicine cat."

There was no hostility in his voice despite the slight hint at Leafpool's disappearance. Apparently Brambleclaw was willing to forget their arguments until the crisis had passed. They padded swiftly out of camp, flinching as they passed Sootfur's crumpled form and Cinderpelt's limp body being dragged carefully to the center of the clearing. Soon they were zipping through the forest, slipping carefully between trees. The Windclan scent was strong; they were in no hurry. And then they were speaking in soft undertones with Onestar, and Barkface was rushing back to camp with them. A part of Squirrelflight quailed in the darkness; what would happen to her clan without Leafpool to guide them?

* * *

Leafpool could smell the thick rabbit scent rising from the bushes. She stalked forward, keeping her footsteps light, making sure that the wind stayed in her favor. She could hear the heartbeat now, the rabbit's rapid breath. Then she pounced! Her claws sank deeply into... a pawful of leaves. It was only a dream. Her stomach clenched in hunger as she lifted her head and looked around sleepily. Oh, mouse dung! It was nearly sunhigh! She leapt to her feet; Firestar would have her pelt for sleeping so late! And then her recent memories flooded back to her.

She groaned inwardly, desperately trying not to wake Crowfeather, whose sleeping form she could feel beside her. How was this possibly going to work? Here they were in the middle of nowhere, beyond all clan territories, sheltering under a wayward bush. They were supposed to live like this?

She wondered what she should do. Her clan instincts told her to hunt for the clan, but there was no clan, no complaining mouths to feed. Her only companion was sleeping beside her, unaware of his hunger or her despair. She crept out from under the bush, opening her mouth and letting the scents of the land flow to her. She could smell plenty of prey further up the hill and she padded towards it on silent paws, the thrill of the hunt upon her. She spotted a rabbit nibbling the few tender shoots of grass that Newleaf provided. She crept forward, sinking into a hunter's crouch; all senses alert, the smell of live prey flooding her nostrils. The rabbit continued to eat unaware... and she pounced! Her muscles coiled and released, her teeth sinking expertly into the rabbit's exposed throat. It died without a sound.

She dragged the rabbit's body back to their bush, exhilarated by her amazing catch. Maybe hunting in the open wasn't as hard as she thought. Although luck _had _been with her; the rabbit hadn't run at all and the wind had stayed in her favor. What she would do if she had to chase down one of those speedy devils only Starclan knew.

Crowfeather was just beginning to stir when she entered their den. He stretched and nodded appreciatively at the fresh kill. They ate together, savoring the warm meat, if only because they could finally share it together. Finally they were done eating and washing. It was time to plan.

"So," Crowfeather began, "Do you think we should stay here? It seems like a nice area and far enough away from the clans..."

"No. I could smell lots of prey, but not enough for a family- I mean if we have one... And this bush isn't nearly enough of a den! I had dew on my fur!"

He nodded slowly, "So let's get on with it then! We can head a little further left now that we've left the clan territory."

So they began to run again, not as joyously as before; this was a paced, ground-eating lope designed for speed and distance. As they ran, Leafpool got the sense that all was not right with Squirrelflight.

* * *

Squirrelflight yawned and stretched her stiff muscles. Ugh. The battle had left them all tired and sore. She washed her leg gently, trying to soothe her scratches. She then hurried to the fresh kill pile, looking around at their battered camp while she did so.

There were gaps in the barrier everywhere and claw marks scarred the earth and rock. The fresh kill pile was a battered mound of bedraggled prey. She fetched herself a small ragged mole and sat down to eat it in gulping bites. Ashfur slipped up beside her and she acknowledged him with a curt nod. She was not in the mood for his antics today. Ashfur must have sensed her reluctance because when Brightheart emerged from her den he padded over to her, chattering with her as she snatched a piece of fresh kill for herself.

Squirrelflight sighed. She needed to talk to him, but now wasn't the time... Brambleclaw had slid in beside her while she stared at Ashfur and now his intense gaze startled her. "They did a lot of damage."

She gave a terse nod. Were they friends now? More than that? Or were they still angry? She was so confused!

"We'll have to take a few days to rebuild the camp. I hope Shadowclan doesn't realize our weakness."

There it was again, that inferior deputy tone. It niggled at her, but she decided to ignore for the time being. "I'm sure Onestar won't tell them about this. He wouldn't do that to us now."

"How do we know?"

And on that ominous note Brambleclaw stood and padded over to Firestar, who had just emerged from his den. In the center of the clearing, Sootfur's body lay, and all ready they were preparing to bury him. A pang of sadness made Squirrelflight shiver, he was so young...

The rest of the day was spent fortifying the camp. Squirrelflight dragged in thorn branches and threaded them into the barrier's gaping holes, until her paws ached and were riddled in thorn scratches. She went to the medicine cat den, but only Brightheart was there, looking bedraggled and over-worked. She was handed a pawful of poppy seeds and sent on her way, the pain receding as the seeds worked their healing magic. She sighed again. With no Leafpool the clan was left without a proper medicine cat, and besides that Squirrelflight had no one to talk to. She went back to the thorn barrier with a heavy heart.

* * *

Leafpool crouched beside Crowfeather, sharing the large crow that he had caught. Suddenly Leafpool stopped in mid-bite. Her heart gave a shudder; she felt so lonely, abandoned, and most of all, confused! Then she was back to normal, snapping up bits of succulent crow. That must have been Squirrel-flight! She must really have been distraught if Leafpool could feel her all the way up here... Leafpool tried to send waves of contentment towards Squirrelflight, but her worry was there too; she hoped Squirrelflight got her message.

Leafpool felt awful. Obviously something had happened and Squirrelflight wanted her back home... but she couldn't go back now! She hadn't even started her life with Crowfeather! Cinderpelt was there; she could take care of anything medicine-wise and she could teach Brightheart how to be a true medicine cat... Squirrel-flight would just have to deal with anything that happened down there. Still though, Leafpool's conscience bothered her, like an itch she couldn't scratch. She wondered what she could do while Crowfeather began washing up after their meal.

Suddenly Leafpool struck inspiration! She could smell Spottedleaf's sweet scent wreath around her as she stood and padded over to a large tree limb lying near-by. She could feel Starclan guided her steps as she gripped the limb in her teeth and began dragging it over to Crowfeather...

* * *

Squirrelflight woke suddenly in the darkness. She wondered slowly what had woken her... And then she was overwhelmed by feelings. Somehow Leafpool was contacting her and her emotions were strong. There was worry connected to a picture of Squirrelflight, happiness and Crowfeather, sadness and ordinary clan life... so many images and emotions all inexplicably woven together. Squirrelflight felt calmer already. Somewhere out there Leafpool was starting a new life, even though she missed her old one. Squirrelflight could accept that; at least until she had time to do something about it.

* * *

Leafpool continued dragging the limb. It was getting dark and the branch was heavy, but she refused to give up stumbling and stumbling towards Crowfeather's dark form. Finally she was sitting before Crowfeather, who was staring at her as if she'd gone mad. Without a word Leafpool grabbed a pawful of crow feathers and a bundle of leaves. Then she bound them to the log with a length of straw. She scratched the wood until it was covered in her scent and then had Crowfeather do the same. Finally, she positioned the log so that it pointed in the direction they were traveling. She smiled. It was a clear marker; if any cat found it they would know she and Crowfeather had made it here alive and which direction they had headed. Crowfeather also realized the significance of the log and nuzzled her gently, his expression one of dreamy happiness and admiration.

With the marker set Leafpool felt ready to move on. She waved her tail to Crowfeather and they padded off in the dying light of dusk.

* * *

When Squirrelflight woke again sunlight was streaming into the warrior den from the battle-scarred roof. She didn't worry so much about Leafpool today, because she knew that beyond clan territory she and Crowfeather were safe. Brambleclaw pranced over to her, obviously happy about something.

"Guess what?" he didn't wait for her to answer, but carried on, "Firestar told me that although he doesn't want to appoint a new deputy yet, I can organize hunting patrols so Firestar can oversee the rebuilding process!"

"That's great!" Squirrelflight was happy for him, but a small feeling of suspicion rose in her mind. Brambleclaw was one step closer to deputy, even without being a mentor.

"So, you want to come hunting with me?"

"Just us?" she was surprised that he wanted to hunt together; maybe the battle really had changed his mind!

"Well... I can't think of anyone else I've invited!" he batted at her playfully and sprinted into the forest with Squirrelflight right on his heels.

They burst out of camp and into bright sunshine. The forest seemed to glow with promise; the scent of prey filled the air and buds were forming on all the trees. Squirrelflight could see crocuses unfurling in the patches of melted snow and the forest was full of soft prey-sounds. Maybe there was a chance of an early Newleaf!

They hadn't gone far when Squirrelflight dropped into her hunting crouch and snagged a starling that hadn't been paying enough attention. Soon she and Brambleclaw had filled several caches with fresh kill and they had to begin lugging it back to camp. As Squirrelflight walked in with the last of the prey she thought of how well the morning had gone. Something stirred within her heart and she felt a sudden rush of affection towards Brambleclaw that left her with pure happiness that lightened her step, and a sudden glimpse of a newly available future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Leafpool smiled at Crowfeather's sleeping form and stretched luxuriously, letting her claws dig deeply into the leaf mold that covered this den's floor. They had been wandering the countryside for several days now; the lake where the clans resided was only a puddle from up here. They were amongst the clouds and nearing the highest mountains, but to reach the forbidding peaks was not their goal. They were going to head down from these cliffs, towards the rolling hills and lush valleys and young forests that were available nearby.

The loner's life was not as hard as she had thought it would be. There was never a shortage of prey, however sparse an area might be, she didn't have to do chores, she could sleep as late as she wanted, and she never had to worry about cats getting sick in the middle of the night. Despite all the disadvantages Leafpool missed clan life. She couldn't hunt with anyone except Crowfeather, there was no one to talk to except him, there were no elders whose wisdom she could rely on, and there was no clan leader to make the toughest decisions. She missed the mewling of kits, the scuffling of apprentices, and the gatherings under the full moon. She missed everything.

She slipped outside of their den (this time it was inside a hollow log) and gazed down at the shimmering lake. She couldn't even see the Thunderclan camp anymore! She wondered if they missed her down there, if anyone had bothered to come looking for them yet. She sighed and padded away with Crowfeather, who had just emerged sleepily from their shared den.

POV

Squirrelflight let out a fearsome yowl and leapt upon her attacker! She batted at him sharply and pounced... with sheathed claws.

"Wow! That was cool! Show us again!" Daisy's young kits scrambled around her and mimicked her angry roar and "deadly" attack on the battered tree stump.

Squirrelflight couldn't help but laugh at their pitiful mewls. She stood and padded away, leaving the kits to play their silly games. Brambleclaw came up, rubbing shoulders with her, and she noticed Ashfur glaring resentfully at him from across the camp.

"We're recovering well, aren't we?" Brambleclaw's mew had a definite happy tone to it.

"Yeah. Things are finally going back to normal!" then Squirrelflight glanced at the medicine cat den where Barkface was teaching Brightheart the proper uses for coltsfoot. "Well, almost back to normal."

"I miss her too." They looked longingly at the camp entrance as though they could will Leafpool into appearance.

"I'm going to talk to Firestar about sending a rescue team. You, me and maybe a few others could see if we can track them down. They can't have gone that far!" Squirrelflight felt that faint flutter of hope in her chest, along with a measure of despair at the insurmountable task she had set for herself.

"I can talk to him for you if you want," Brambleclaw's offer was tempting, but this was something she had to do herself.

"No, I want to do this privately. I'll have a better chance of making him agree with our plan... He won't be happy you know."

"Yeah. I know. But this is important to you."

She looked at him, her heart aflutter. Did he really care that much for her; that he would take on this mission with her? She smiled at the thought of herself and Brambleclaw, traipsing around the countryside on Leafpool's tail, all alone... no one around... She blushed and turned her thoughts away. Maybe he was just being friendly.

Squirrelflight realized that Brambleclaw had wandered away during her reverie and she was standing alone in the center of the clearing. Mousefur looked at her curiously and Squirrelflight darted out of the camp, feeling rather embarrassed, but still happy.

POV

Leafpool flinched at the crackling of leaves as she walked carefully through the forest. After the soft meadow grasses this dried out forest underbrush made the loudest sounds! They had finally left the friendly hills, and had descended into a valley occupied by a spacious forest and plenty of wildlife. The trees had been fine enough out on the outskirts of the large forest, but here in the deep woods (after skirting nervously around an occupied twolegplace) the foreboding giants made Leafpool nervous and jumpy. Had she really gotten that used to the open field?

"Leafpool..." Crowfeather began nervously, looking about. "I don't like this..."

Leafpool nudged him reassuringly. "There's nothing to be scared of! Just a bunch of overgrown trees and half-wit prey is all!"

He looked at her with wide eyes. He was even more used to the moor than she, and without the open sky and endless breeze he felt lost and out of place. He walked closer to her, still alert for any sign of danger. But he couldn't save Leafpool from what happened next.

POV

Squirrelflight could feel something in the air, a hint of nervousness and a touch of apprehension. Was this from Leafpool or from her own runaway imagination? Today was a big day for her. She was finally going to approach Firestar with her half-formed plan. Without his approval she could move no farther. She needed to convince him of her worth, but how? She shook her head as Ashfur walked up to her.

"So you and Brambleclaw seem pretty close again..."

Not now! Squirrelflight scrambled for the right words to delay this talk, "Well... We're just feeling closer after fighting together like that. The battle really changed our perspectives; everyone's really. We need to stay close to work as a team."

Ashfur looked at her skeptically. Squirrelflight could almost see his brain churning, wondering how far she and Brambleclaw had gotten. "Well I guess..."

Yes! He was going to drop it! "I've got to talk to Firestar now. See you later!" She tried to put a positive tone on her words; she didn't want Ashfur to get distracting from his mentoring and if this was what she had to do to keep him focused, so be it.

She bounced up towards High rock, wondering once again how to persuade her father into agreeing with her half set plan. She hesitated as she reached the curtain of moss. "Firestar... Dad? Are you in there?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Leafpool lifted her head, mouth open to catch the scents of the forest. She wondered if this secluded region could ever be their home; a place for them to settle down and start a family... It smelled rich enough... But it felt wrong somehow; and they hadn't passed any suitable dens. She was glad that they would be at the other end of the valley (and the forest) in another day.

She pricked her ears at the faint sound of scrabbling mouse steps. It was close; she could see a leaf trembling on the forest floor... the creature must be sheltering there! She crept forward, the mouse continuing its search for seeds, completely unaware. She placed her feet lightly within pouncing distance, her leg muscles coiled and... Released! She flew towards the leaf, knowing that soon the mouse would be hers. She landed hard and to her confusion the mouse was not in her paws! She had missed! Furious, she looked around and realized she had hit the wrong leaf! Luckily, the mouse was still oblivious, caught up in its search for food. She sprang again, this time hitting her mark and screaming in horror as two iron bars flew at her face.

Pov

Squirrelflight swallowed nervously; why wasn't Firestar answering? And then relief swept in as Sandstorm came padding out, gesturing with her tail for Squirrelflight to enter. Squirrelflight stepped through the moss curtain, eager to hear Firestar's opinion. Her father lay curled up in his bedding, obviously awaiting her entrance. She didn't quite know where to start, and for an awkward moment they looked at each other curiously.

Squirrelflight managed to break the silence, "Um... Can I ask you a question?"

Ugh! What was she thinking?! What a way to begin this conversation; "Um" indeed! But it was too late now; she had to forge ahead. Firestar spoke first, "Of course Squirrelflight. You're always welcome to speak with me."

Something in his words sounded weary and sharp. Squirrelflight hurried on, eager for the ordeal to be over, "I've been thinking about Leafpool a lot lately..."

"We all have."

"Anyway, now that the camp is nearly finished I've come up with a plan..."

"What kind of plan?"

Squirrelflight wished he'd stop interrupting her! "Well, it's not really complete yet, but the plan is to find Leafpool and Crowfeather and bring them back home. I think we can track them, I know I can persuade them, and I have to try to help them..." Squirrelflight petered off under Firestar's fierce glare.

"So you just think we can go out and find them? It's all that easy?" Firestar stood now and began to pace. "Being a leader is hard. And it's time like these that I question Bluestar's decision on my leadership." Squirrelflight stared, open-mouthed. What could have gotten him in such a state?! "And _now_ you want to find them; now that we're weak and vulnerable, now that your mother is heavy with kits!" Squirrelflight gasped. Sandstorm was having kits?! This conversation was getting stranger by the second!

"I... I didn't know... It's just that I miss Leafpool so badly and I want her to come back and if we don't go soon there'll be no scent left at all!" In a blinded rush Squirrelflight let the words spill out.

Firestar's shoulders suddenly sagged. " I know you're right of course; I just never thought it'd come to this... my own daughter..."

Squirrelflight looked at her father, who had lost himself in his own thoughts. Did this mean they could go, or that it was forbidden? She looked at him expectantly.

Abruptly, Firestar raised his head and stared into her eyes, his expression blank; then folding into one of relief. "Of course... You can go Squirrelflight; you and Brambleclaw and... Well, maybe it would be best if only you two went. I'm trusting you Squirrelflight."

Squirrelflight looked into her father's bright eyes, "You can depend on us."

Firestar turned around and headed back to his nest, looking very tired and frail. Squirrelflight crept back out of the den, dismissed.

POV

The bars of iron with ragged teeth flew at her, snapping shut... on her front legs. She felt bones crunch, suddenly compacted together by harsh metal teeth. She felt tendons snap, felt the serrated metal tear through her exposed skin, felt her own terror a moment to late... She could feel everything; from her skin and fur peeling away like a used wrapper to her blood welling up through her mangled veins. But the pain didn't kick in until a moment later in excruciating tremors that made her tremble and moan in fear. Through the fuzzy blackness that was veiling her eyes she saw Crowfeather running towards her, almost in slow motion, a look of sheer terror upon his face and a horrifying yowl tearing from his lips.

POV

Squirrelflight galloped towards Brambleclaw, "He said yes!!!" The overwhelming joy on her face said everything he needed to know. "We can go! And alone too!"

Squirrelflight blushed suddenly; realizing what she had just blurted. Brambleclaw tactfully changed the subject, "That's great! Have you thought about provisions? And... when do we leave?"

Squirrelflight started; once again she had forgotten to think ahead, "Well... It's just a rough plan; I mean all the details..."

"I get it," Brambleclaw began in a laughing mew, "You're pretending to be scatter-brained prey!"

Squirrelflight pounced playfully on Brambleclaw's tail and they rolled around in the dust, laughing joyously until Brambleclaw rolled onto Firestar's foreleg. In an instant Brambleclaw was on his feet, licking his chest sheepishly. Firestar just stepped around them, leaping onto High rock and giving the customary summons, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at High Rock!"

Squirrelflight was one of the first cats to sit at the foot of the rock, settling next to Brambleclaw, entwining her tail in his. Ashfur was glaring at her again; Squirrelflight felt another pang of guilt, but it was interrupted by Firestar's words, "As you all know, Leafpool has disappeared with Crowfeather into the wilderness." There was a general murmur of consent before Firestar could continue on.

"Now that the camp is on its way to complete repair it is time we dealt with the consequences of Leafpool's actions."

The murmur became a roar. "Let her rot out there, the traitor!" "Organize a search party!" "Get our medicine cat back!" Firestar waited patiently, finally cutting them off with a swish of his tail.

"I understand that you may be resentful, but she is my daughter and a medicine cat and she is valuable to our clan. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw have offered to head a search party north of Windclan's outer boundaries, where they were last seen."

Once again the crowd raised its voice and Firestar listened carefully. There were several offers to join the search party and a few petitions to disband it. Finally the crowd grew silent.

"I understand what many of you must be feeling, but I feel that it's best if we spare only two warriors on this mission. If they aren't back in three moons we send a search party... if everyone can be content with this than they will leave tomorrow at dawn."

There were a few grumbles, but no one spoke out for a moment. And then Ashfur's voice rose from the calm, "Squirrelflight... how could you do this to me? I can't stand the thought of you leaving me here like a helpless kit! Can't you see my love for you?"

There was a loud gasp from the clan and several hushed conversations began. Squirrelflight stared at Ashfur in horror. How could he do this to her?! Especially now that she had her chance to rescue Leafpool!

Her mouth couldn't form the necessary words but it didn't need to; Bramble-claw's voice rose with her words in a deeper tone, "Of course she can see your feelings. You've been trailing after her like a lovesick apprentice for weeks now! Can't _you_ see that she is happy with the way things are? Why... How could you change this now, when she can finally rescue her littermate? And of course she's upset! She has a right to ignore you when you act like this!"

Squirrelflight almost let out a purr she was so happy to have Brambleclaw! Ashfur's tail drooped in defeat. She hated the look of disappointment and despair on his face; it spelled the hopelessness of a broken heart. But she liked them being _friends_. Why did it have to go any further? She padded over to her father, looking for the instructions on their trip.

POV

Crowfeather heard Leafpool pad away in hunter-stealth. He watched as she prepared to pounce on a quivering leaf, feeling the pride that came with his mate and the trembling anticipation of fresh kill. She sprang, gliding through the air so gracefully; her lithe body an expression of elegance, an asset to all cats... He watched her gentle landing; whisper soft, her front paws snagging the leaf. But it was the wrong leaf! He couldn't believe it! She shook her head angrily, and then pounced again, harder this time. He watched her land thickly on the correct leaf and stared in helpless horror as bars of metal came to kill his mate. He began running, faster than he had ever run before, faster than any Windclan cat; any ancestor in the starry skies... but it was not fast enough. Only tail lengths away from his goal he let out a yowl of desperation as the iron fate sliced into his vulnerable love.

POV

"You'll need traveling herbs of course, Lea- Barkface can help you with that. You'll each need plenty; then you can make it as far as possible without stopping to hunt. Like I told the clan, you'll leave at dawn... with everyone's well wishes." Firestar was all business now, not the sad cat he'd been in his den. Leafpool watched her father stride briskly towards the medicine den and return with two packets of strongly scented herbs.

"Here. Eat these tomorrow, just before you leave," Firestar spat out the words and the herbs. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight each grabbed their packet and then headed back to the warrior's den; they would need a long night of sleep before the journey and the sun was creeping towards sunset now. The settled into two nests not to far from the entrance and curled up together, already slipping into a sweet sleep.

POV

Crowfeather was panicking and he knew it. His thoughts jumped wildly and no actions made any sense... Calm Crowfeather... Calm. Great. Now he was hearing her voice in his head... and that's exactly what she would have said. He took a deep breath and truly surveyed the damage. Leafpool's front legs were both crushed beyond recognition, glistening with pints of precious blood. The bars had missed the vital areas, but there was no way she would walk again, even if she didn't die from the massive blood loss. How could things have gone so wrong so fast? One moment he was smiling with pride, the next he was wondering if his life mate would survive at all. He watched her in case she stirred. She didn't move that hour. Or the next. Or the next. He could feel his own spirit withering with hers. He began yowling. So hard, so long it hurt. His throat rasped, his body felt stiff, but he howled vigil for the next two days.

POV

Mmmm... Fresh kill... She could smell it so strongly, but everything was red. Her body felt hot and sticky. Was that... Spottedleaf? The sweet scent wreathed around her, dancing on the wind. Yes... there she was, a clear spot in her red-drenched vision.

"Sp... Spottedleaf?" Her throat hurt; so dry...

"Yes Leafpool, I'm here," so that was her name... Leafpool. It was so pretty.

"Snap out of it Leafpool!" the red vision fled and everything came back to her.

"Is... Am I dead? Where are we?" Wow. She was surprisingly calm.

"You're not dead Leafpool. This is still only a dream. You need to stay strong. Pull yourself together. Crowfeather will not survive without you."

"Crowfeather! Where is he?" Leafpool looked around wildly. Her surroundings were blurry, but they resembled the forest she'd been walking through. And there was Crowfeather... far below her. He was yowling, full of pain and anguish. She sensed hunger, and something beside him, barely alive. It was... her. She stared down in horror.

POV

Squirrelflight stirred weakly in her sleep. Something was wrong... Someone was dying. Her dream seemed to have gone dark red. She mumbled Leafpool, but the word didn't register and she slipped back into her previous dream.

POV

Tom sighed. He had come across another of Jeremy's sick traps. There had been a fox in this one, front paw crushed mercilessly. He had put it in a cage and gave it anesthesia, but he wasn't sure that the poor thing would come through.

It was six in the morning and already he was preparing to walk the trap line. He was determined not to let his sick neighbor gather more disgusting prizes from the peaceful woodlot. The running shoes fit, but barely. He needed to go somewhere other than the mill on his trips to town... ugh. It was so cold this morning... He hoped the cold hadn't finished the animals off...

The leaves crackled beneath his feet as he ran down the line of empty traps. By now he could just recognize the slight imprint in the dirt or leaves that indicated a hidden trap. So far so good. They were all empty and now snapped shut. Then he heard it... a faint yowl further up the line. What could be making that noise? Most of the animals caught in traps only whimpered softly, or lay silent, already dead or unconscious. He sped up with no real thought. The noise grew steadily louder. What waited for him ahead?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, only the ideas behind this story.**

**Chapter Four**

Squirrelflight woke to a cold, dreary morning. She could feel dew in her fur and her whiskers felt stiff with cold; she shook out her stiff, damp fur and smiled as Brambleclaw woke, glaring at her with a sleepy eye. They stretched together and patted out into the clearing. They each took a piece of fresh-kill and then headed to High Rock, where Firestar and a crowd of cats were waiting.

Firestar nodded in greeting, then turned to the expectant crowd, "We gather here today to say farewell to our good friends, Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight."

There was a murmur of approval as Firestar continued, "They have served our clan well and have followed the warrior code in every aspect. But now they have decided to leave for a short while; to find Leafpool and return our medicine cat to her clan!"

Everyone knew this of course, but it sounded so much more official now, on the morning of their quest. Squirrelflight shivered in anticipation.

"If they don't return in three moons a search party will be sent in their stead. I hope you will join me in giving them a final chance to say good-bye." Firestar hopped lightly of the rock and approached the couple. Brambleclaw licked his chest self-consciously.

Firestar simply bowed his head and they touched noses; Squirrelflight could feel the seriousness of their good-bye. Then Firestar approached her, licking her shoulder and nuzzling her affectionately, "I love you Squirrelflight."

"I love you too dad."

And then Firestar strayed to the back of the crowd. Her clanmates surged around her and with each good-bye, she dreaded leaving even more. Warm, forgotten memories arose and wrapped her in their soothing presence; even Ashfur said his good-bye, though not as warmly as once would have. Finally Sandstorm and Firestar were standing behind them, at the entrance of the camp. They looked so perfect together, tails entwined, love and worry blended in their features. Squirrelflight's heart gave a stutter as she swallowed the bitter traveling herbs; was she really leaving all this forever? 'Of course not; you'll be back in no time,' her mind supplied the answer. But would she really? Would Leafpool leave her new life that easily? Squirrelflight bounded after Brambleclaw with a last, longing look at her home.

POV

Tom stroked his rusty, off-color beard as he ambled down the trap line. The noise was growing louder, a raspy tune now emerging. He stopped a few times to spring the empty traps, but by now he was focused almost entirely on the wavering howl. He began to make out a lumpy shape between the trees, dark and mangled. And then he was drawing back the bushes and entering a tiny clearing.

In the center of the clearing lay a young she-cat, front paws broken inside the remains of a sprung iron trap. She was emaciated and her fur was mangy, although she looked as if something had been grooming her fur. She lay still, scarcely breathing, and he knew she was probably near dead from blood loss. But that was not the most amazing part of the horrifying scene.

The most amazing creature was crouched beside the she-cat. He was a tom. His fur was matted and unkempt, his eyes were rheumy and frightened, and from his mouth trickled a steady stream of blood. It was him crouching beside her, his vocal cords that he wore down to the breaking point, his constant yowling that guarded her from predators, and his body heat that kept her alive in the cold, autumn nights. He was near death himself, as emaciated as his mate and almost in worse condition with his bloody throat and stiff muscles. But he still spat fiercely at Tom when he tried to draw near, still showed his claws, feebly trying to protect his mate as he had done for two days now. Tom pulled on his "catching" gloves and gently wrapped his protected hands around the feral tom's side.

The tom, of course, protested wildly, but he had little strength left and he finally allowed Tom to place him in a sturdy, fold-up cage for transport back to Tom's house. Then Tom went for the girl, this time with surgical gloves on. He wrestled the metal jaws open, carefully separating the rest of the she-cat's leg from the trap. He placed an iron rod between the struggling metal jaws and then cautiously preparing to move her. He slid a towel underneath her and then began lifting her to one of the cages. She stirred slightly, but she did not wake, too exhausted and near death to put up any kind of struggle. He looked down at the sad sight; the bloody-lipped tomcat, panting in his cage and the mangled she-cat, limp on her towel, her blood soaking the cotton.

POV

Crowfeather heard the two-leg coming, but knew that he could not flee. What kind of mate would that make him, to abandon his queen when she needed him most? When the two-leg came to capture him, he struggled as best he could, but his weakened body would not fight and his mouth was full of blood. He watched helplessly inside his metal cage as Leafpool was laid limply inside a cage of her own, and he could see, for the first time, the extent of her wounds. Her front paws were so damaged that he wasn't sure they could ever be healed again, and unattached skin clung to the wound everywhere. There was still so much blood that he could not see where healthy leg ended and mangled remains began, but he knew it would be a miracle if she ever walked again.

He could no longer cry with his ravaged throat, but he wished he could. He didn't even know if she could hear him, or if she would live to bear future kits. The cage began to swing and shudder and Crowfeather knew that the two-leg was taking them away. He wondered if Starclan was beyond his reach, but he sent up a heart-wrenching prayer, that was swallowed in the gray clouds of a mournful morning.

POV

Leafpool stood beside Spottedleaf, watching in horror as her mate refused to stop mourning, refused to end his yowling, tearing himself apart for her. Spottedleaf offered no comfort, only a warm presence beside her as the two-leg came and carried Crowfeather (and what was left of her body) away.

"Am I dead now?"

"Don't be silly Leafpool, your body still holds breath; there is hope for you yet."

"But if I ever return to my body, won't I be crippled for life? Isn't it better to just stay here, and live my life above?"

"Of course not!" Spottedleaf's eyes flashed lividly, "Any life is better than cold, stony death! Would you do that to Crowfeather? Would you be so cruel?"

Leafpool stepped backwards, frightened at Spottedleaf's sudden anger, "Of course not! I only meant... meant.... that maybe I wouldn't survive down there. Would I still live up here?"

"Am I living?" Spottedleaf was calm again, but her question made Leafpool wonder if Spottedleaf was really okay.

"I suppose so. But how can you live without food or water; without ground to steady your paws and Earth to support your kits?"

"It is the soul that stays alive Leafpool, the soul..." Spottedleaf's voice was fading away and so was Starclan's meadow! Leafpool scrambled for footing, but she was falling through the sky... and everything went red.

POV

Squirrelflight paused to catch her breath, looking down at the rolling hills and spotty brush that filled Windclan's territory. They were finally here, outside clan territory, higher than the trees, watching the red light of sunset creep across the lake.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Brambleclaw had come up behind her and his sweet scent filled her with a quiet joy.

"Of course. It's home."

Brambleclaw drew up beside her, nuzzling her shoulder affectionately. A tremor of happiness ran down Squirrelflight's spine.

"It could never be as beautiful as you."

Squirrelflight glanced at him, excitement coursing through her. Did he like her? Was he finally ready to be friends again, or even more...

They lingered there for a while, but finally Brambleclaw shook his fur and stood. "I think we should find a camp, there's not much scent here and it will be easier to track them in the morning."

Squirrelflight followed him further up the hill, checking bushes for a good den. Finally they found one and when they went inside there was a huge surprise! The interior of the den smelled strongly of Leafpool and Crowfeather; there were even the remains of two cushioned dens and a few lingering paw prints in the soft moor sand! Her and Brambleclaw sniffed the remains ecstatically and then curled up together; the nests were still comfortable and they were so close together... Squirrelflight fell asleep to the soothing rhythm of his breath.

POV

Every bone in her body hurt. Every muscle, every tendon, every _nerve_ screamed for relief she could not offer. Each breath was the agony of an eternity, each blink a slow process of pain. She couldn't get enough air, she could feel her stomach clench in hunger, and she got no reaction at all from her front paws when she tried to move... but she was alive. Awfully, horribly, grotesquely injured... but still alive. Her vision (between painful blinks) was blurry and tinged red. She seemed to be inside some moving thing, but her nose wasn't working and her ears were muffled, so she had no idea what it could be. But the thing that scared her the most was an absence. Crowfeather was not beside her.

She desperately tried to call his name, but got only a strange gurgle and the taste of blood that filled her mouth. She nearly panicked, but forced herself to remain calm, to focus on Crowfeather and only her dear, sweet, Crowfeather. She couldn't move, or even twitch; she lay frozen to something soft beneath her, feeling the blood sluggishly flow down her front legs. She wanted Crowfeather so badly that it caused her a pain equal to her injuries, but she knew that it was impossible to find him in this state, and she was so tired... In spite of all her efforts she fell into a deep sleep, where pain did not exist.

POV

Tom laid the she-cat out on the operating table. She was injured to the extreme; he wasn't sure that he could save her life, let alone her legs. She had stayed unconscious as he brought her into his shelter, but now she began to stir. He quickly rigged up a morphine drip and a sleeping mask and soon she was lifeless again, her breathing a ragged rhythm to his work. He pulled on his surgical gloves and brought out the x-ray, taking several shots of her front legs. He could see the splintered bone before him and knew that he would have to insert metal "bone" if she was to ever walk again. This would be the most dangerous surgery he had attempted yet, but he felt a strange need to save this cat, if only for her fiercely loyal mate. He sighed and turned off his phone. Any distraction could be fatal during the surgery. He rolled the tools over, stainless steel gleaming under the unnatural white light; he preferred the outdoors, but a surgery was the next best thing. If he hadn't been so radical any shelter would have been glad to have him.

He adjusted his scrubs and double-checked the door. It was still locked. He fingered his tools carefully and made sure the metal replacements were in order (he kept several in his back room ever since the neighbor's cat had had an incident with a loose dog) and adjusted the lighting. He could stall no more. Offering a silent prayer, he picked up his scalpel and began.

POV

Squirrelflight stretched luxuriously in the dappled sunlight of the den. Brambleclaw lay in a rumpled heap beside her, still snoozing in the warm nest. She could smell his sweet scent blending with the faint bitterness of Crowfeather. She hoped he and her sister were still okay.

She crept out of the den, enjoying the branches that ran through her fur; this was the life. No urgent duties, her mate beside her, the sun out and shining... What more could one ask? She padded lightly over the springy moor-grass, wondering if the prey tasted different because they ate such strange foliage. She shook her head; what a silly thing to think about! Her stomach rumbled hungrily and she decided to test her theory.

She had only gone a few yards when she smelled rabbit. Crouching carefully she watched as the plump creature hopped cautiously into view. After a few minutes, the rabbit relaxed, nibbling on a few shoots of grass. Squirrelflight leapt.

...Brambleclaw awoke to the heady scent of freshly caught rabbit and shook his fur, padded out eagerly to greet his mate and breakfast. She seemed even more beautiful than usual in the cheerful autumn sun. It had been moons since they had enjoyed this kind of weather in peace. The rabbit was delicious (Squirrelflight found it _did_ have a slightly different taste, though it wasn't bad and maybe even improved the flavor) and they lingered by the spot, enjoying the warmth and their company, and the feeling of dry grass beneath their fur. Finally Squirrelflight rose.

"We should probably get going."

"Of course," Brambleclaw stood as well, and began walking away from their makeshift den.

"Wait," something seemed to tug Squirrelflight in a slightly different direction, "I think we should go this way."

Brambleclaw shrugged and followed her further up the hill. Suddenly Squirrelflight gasped. Brambleclaw surged forward, to find his mate staring at something in front of her paws.

"It's... they..." Squirrelflight stared at the object before her. It was a simple stick, but crudely tied to it was a simple leaf and a handle full of crow feathers. And the stick pointed clearly in one direction.

"They left us a sign," Squirrelflight could finally control her voice. She gazed out in the direction of the stick, giving a silent prayer to Starclan, _'Please keep her safe, wherever she is.'_ Then her and Brambleclaw walked off together, following the path of their hearts.

POV

Tom shook his head wearily. Four hours in surgery and not done yet. His tools where bloodstained, as were his once-clean gloves. He took a drink of water and wondered if he should leave it for the night. But he couldn't stop now. He looked at his patient and smiled; she looked so peaceful, so ironic in the cluttered mess of bloodstained steel. He turned to change his gloves.

Suddenly her monitors jumped off the charts. Her heart rate spiked, her blood pressure rose to extremes! Her body shook and convulsed, blood spraying from every open wound! He spun around and sprinted towards her, desperate to stop the attack-


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Squirrelflight yawned and blinked slowly in the filtered sunlight. They were pretty far into the mountains now, and soon they would have to head back down. At least, she hoped the next marker would point towards the valleys; it was getting harder to breath and the decrease in prey was very noticeable.

This time their den was a hollow log (pre-picked, as most of them were) and it was very comfortable inside. Her fur felt so warm and fluffy... but she had to get up or else she would never leave.

She prodded Brambleclaw with a gentle paw. He only shifted with a soft moan. She poked him again, this time more of a jab into his soft stomach. He let out a low growl and struggled upright, fur tousled and eyes half-closed.

"Why do we have... ha...(yawn) have to get up so early? There's nothing to do anyway."

"We have to keep moving. Every moment we waste Leafpool and Crowfeather could be getting further and further away."

"How do you know they're still traveling? Maybe they've found a permanent den by now."

Squirrelflight's eyes widened; she hadn't thought about that! What would she do if they were all settled... her sister pregnant, the beginnings of a clan already set? Her brow furrowed with worry; what would she do? What _could_ she do? She sighed.

"We'll have to deal with that when we get there," she turned around and followed the scent trail (they were stronger these days) to the next marker. Brambleclaw came up beside her and nuzzled her gently, eyes shining. She let out a reluctant purr and he smiled, licking her cheek.

She finally pulled away and began picking her way down the hill, Brambleclaw close behind. This slope was much steeper than the others they had scaled and it was strewn with boulders and brambles. Squirrelflight shivered; she didn't like the feel of this place, where one misstep could spell death.

Brambleclaw jumped in front of her, "I think I should lead the way; this place is dangerous!"

Squirrelflight dropped back nervously, looking out for possible dangers. They were about halfway down now and she was beginning to feel better, looking around more often. So she didn't see Brambleclaw stumble and begin the long fall down...

POV

Tom scrambled, frantically trying to stem the sudden on-rush of blood. His bandages didn't seem to be working; they kept getting soaked through with blood, forcing him to unwind them as fast as he put them on. Her heartbeat was slowing dangerously; she wouldn't last much longer. He mopped his brow and wondered what he could try that had the faintest hint of hope to it. And what happened next he never forgot.

The she-cat was practically dead, her heartbeat at only forty beats per minute. And then she began to move! She didn't wake up but her body suddenly shifted to an upright position. And then there were the shadows. Wispy forms that looked like... other cats! They held her up and seemed to be... healing her? Cobwebs appeared on her wounds, staunching the blood; an herbal smell filled the room. And slowly the cats drifted away and his patient's heart was working again, everything back to normal. He never really knew what happened that day and later swore that it was the cats from beyond the grave that had saved her... he still thanked them.

He began finishing the surgery at top speed, giving her a large blood transfusion (he had taken her type before the surgery) through a tube and inserting the metal bones with amazing precision. Everything was so clear; he knew just how to stitch the shredded skin though he had never attempted such a difficult stitch. He somehow knew exactly when to lessen the anesthetic so the blood would flow faster. He knew everything, but only during the surgery. The instant her last paw was sewn back into normal shape the mystic information fled. When his friends asked him about it later he could only say that God had guided his hands that day.

She was slowly coming out from under anesthesia, but she didn't wake up. He cradled her gently and laid her in a special healing cage; she would have to join her mate later. Her front legs looked a little strange, but he was sure they would work again, even with the scars. But who knew how long he'd have to keep her?

He poured cat food into her dish, wondering if she'd eat it even if she could. It probably didn't smell very appetizing... but he'd worry about that later. He filled her water fountain and then left her asleep, heading to the holding station to see her mate. He too was asleep, but he snapped awake when Tom approached, letting out a low, raspy growl. Tom sighed; he knew how the poor guy must feel, so abandoned and alone... He also noticed that the tom's food was untouched. Suddenly an idea came to him and he headed to his freezer.

The freezer was his invention; large and spacious with special shelves and cupboards, it kept anything frozen. He generally used its contents to feed the wild birds he often re-habilitated. Whenever his cats brought him dead mice or birds, they went into the freezer, becoming someone's dinner. He also took the dead rabbits and things from his neighbor's traps and kept them for this purpose. Now was a good time for a mouse; that cat _had_ to eat.

When he put the micro waved mouse (it had to be de-thawed) in the tom's cage the cat sniffed it warily, then tucked in hungrily. Tom smiled; he'd had a hunch that this tom wasn't the cat food type. He fetched another mouse and placed it in the she-cat's cage, still frozen. Who knew when she'd wake up? He yawned. It had been a long day. As he climbed in his bed, his last thoughts were of his newest charges...

POV

Crowfeather prowled around the edges of his steel cage. The room he was in smelled uncomfortably of disinfectant and too many animals. For one thing he could smell fox and badger (two scents that immediately made him want to leave as soon as possible) as well as a horse, some rabbits (this made his mouth water), and several birds of prey (he cursed the kit-stealers and wondered how large they were; if he could take them in a fight). There was also the lingering scent of sickness and pain and blood to put him on edge, and the water tasted like two-leg. There was only one thing that would make him stay here... Leafpool. And he knew she had to be here.

So he paced: back and forth, back and forth. The mouse had been delicious (despite the two-leg taint), but it had nowhere near satisfied his hunger and the two-leg was off again. Crowfeather couldn't see a window and so didn't now if it was night or dawn or anything in between. His cage had narrow slots in it, so he knew there was lighting coming in from somewhere, but he couldn't maneuver well enough to make out anything. He had just managed to stick his muzzle through a slot (and so allowing a tiny field of vision) when a patch of dark brown fur filled his sight. Suddenly, the fur shifted and he was staring into the curious eyes of... a dog! He leapt backwards, spitting and hissing. To his surprise, the dog quivered and tucked its tail, crouching in the far side of its cage. Crowfeather was still wondering what was wrong with it when Tom entered the room.

"So you want to meet Sonya? Well, you better play nice mister; she's had a hard enough life already!" a meaningless string of two-leg babble filled the air, but the two-leg did make itself useful, opening the slots of his cage as wide as they could go. Now that Crowfeather could really see the wolf it was obvious that she (for it had that female scent to it) was very young. Her fur was still fluffy, but a pretty shade of red-brown and her eyes were blue, though beginning to darken as she aged. Her front paw was wrapped in a two-leg bandage and she held it slightly off the ground; that must be why she was in the holding room. Her ears were surprisingly cat-like, with the same pointed tip and ability to swivel and her tail was thick and bushy. He almost felt sorry for the cowering pup... almost.

"Stay out of my way you filthy mutt!" he hissed at her, fur puffed up, claws revealed. The pup scrabbled even farther away, forcing its body into a tiny corner, whimpering feebly. Crowfeather was unimpressed. What kind of crazy dog didn't try to attack an unfriendly cat?

He decided to ignore her for the time being; she could just be putting on an act, waiting to give chase like all dogs did. He was just curling up to sleep when a tiny voice caught his attention, "W-why doesn't he like me?"

It was the she-pup, but she was talking to herself, not him. He stared at her. A dog that spoke cat? That was even freakier than a _badger_ that spoke cat! Badgers were at least wild and fairly intelligent, but dogs? They were dumb as pond scum, uglier than the mangiest rogue and merciless cat-killers besides! He wondered if there was a cat on the other side of her who was speaking. But no, her she went again and her lips moved visibly, "Nobody likes me. Nobody likes me!"

Her voice went sharp and she began howling, shoulders shuddering occasionally with suppressed sobs. Crowfeather gazed at her with new insight. Maybe she wasn't a dog, but some strange dog-cat! That would explain the ears at least...

He decided to try talking to her again, shouting over her mournful reverie, "What are you?"

She stopped howling abruptly and turned to stare at him, tail slinking back between her legs, "What are you?"

"What am I?" Crowfeather couldn't believe she didn't know what a cat was! "I'm a cat of course!"

"A cat-of-course?"

"No! A cat. Only a cat. And you didn't answer my question," she was awfully thick for a half-cat; he wondered if he should just give up. He didn't particularly like meeting new people anyway... But Leafpool would probably want him to make new friends, even in an awful situation. He decided he might as well talk to her; after all, what else did he have to do?

"Hello Cat, I'm a wolf," she wagged her tail slightly.

"So you're not a cat and a dog crossed?"

"No. What's a dog?" the pup tilted her head, looking perplexed.

"They look kind of like you, only with floppy ears, and shorter fur, and brown eyes. And they stay with their two-legs."

"Oh! You mean a Barker?"

"Um... Is that your word for them?"

"Yes. Barkers. They smell disgusting, always padding after their two-legs like they belong to them! They always ignored us; told us we should find a two-leg family and stop roaming around the woods," she had left her corner now and was slowly creeping towards him. Crowfeather realized that he too had moved closer to the opened slot.

"There are more of you here?"

"Yes, a lot more. Only, I got caught in a trap on the migration and now my family's left the valley and I don't know if they're coming back because the two-legs don't want us in their valley anymore!" she spoke in one long rush and her tail drooped, her eyes filling with a strange longing; Crowfeather knew how she felt.

"You never told me your name."

"Tell me yours!"

What a contradictory species, though Crowfeather, offering his name, "I'm Crowfeather and my mate is Leafpool... I hope you'll get to meet her."

A sudden rush of sadness filled Crowfeather and he almost missed his new friend's name, "I'm Sonya."

Crowfeather purred. It was a pretty name and he sort of liked this new friend, now that she wasn't a dog! "It's nice to meet you Sonya!"

"You too Cr-Crowfeather!" Sonya yawned and a sleepy look crossed her face.

"We should probably go to sleep. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?"

Sonya nodded, "Good night Crowfeather."

"Good night Sonya," Crowfeather curled into a tight, warm ball, thinking about his new friend as he fell into a dream, where he and Leafpool ruled the valley with Sonya at their side.

POV

Leafpool was floating again. She didn't join Starclan immediately like she thought she would. Instead, she watched Starclan warriors cluster around her body. She stared at all the blood and thought to herself, what a horrible way to die... at least I couldn't feel any of it. She still felt nothing, just the strange sensation of drifting on the wind.

A Starclan meadow finally began to appear. It seemed reluctant, and it wasn't until Spottedleaf appeared that Leafpool could feel her paws touch the ground.

"Am I dead now?"

Spottedleaf laughed, "No, not yet. Can't Starclan visit you without a reason like that?"

Leafpool blushed and licked her chest self-consciously, "Well, you all started gathering around my body and I was just floating there and I thought..."

"I know. But you will know when your time comes."

Leafpool looked at her. Spottedleaf had a slightly wistful look on her face and she didn't react when Leafpool's tail touched her shoulder. "What's the matter Spottedleaf?"

She jerked around suddenly, and then seemed to realize where she was. She sighed and finally answered, "I just... I miss... life."

"But you are alive... aren't you? Just in a different way right?"

"No, it isn't the same at all. You can eat but you can't be hungry, you can sleep, but you're still awake... I don't really know how to explain it. And he's not here with me..." Spottedleaf trailed off, her eyes filled with a strange pain.

Leafpool wondered if she should say something, but Spottedleaf spoke again, "Crowfeather misses you. And I think you'll be surprised by his new friend."

Leafpool looked at her curiously, but Starclan was melting away again, sinking into a strange, bluish mist. She felt so sleepy all the sudden...

POV

Brambleclaw's panicked yowl ripped through her heart. She whipped her head around, too late to stop his fall. He plunged downward, legs paddling thin air, trying to gain impossible purchase. He began hitting things: a boulder, a log, a stunted tree. And then he smacked into the thorn bush. Its wicked branches held him tight, snagging his fur and forcing blood to well up from his battered body. Squirrelflight tried to move quickly, but she didn't want to trip and make even more trouble, she was forced to pick a slow path down. Finally, she reached the bush.

She tried to free her mate's limp body from the wicked branches, but they kept snagging her fur and forcing her back. She let out a yowl of despair and tugged harder. Her paws bled, her head pounded, but still she scraped away at the tangled mess. Finally she pulled him out, laying him softly on the grass; he was too heavy to carry far. They were at the bottom of the hill now, but being of the accursed thing brought her no comfort. Brambleclaw's fur was full of embedded thorns, but she was shaking too hard to pull them out. Little hiccups of pain tore at her heartstrings, especially when she realized that a thorn had pierced his eyelid. She couldn't bear life without him! She realized now that she truly loved him... and that her love might be too late.

**Sorry it's short; this is just such a good place to end! Another cliffie! And sorry if it seems like I'm trying to kill them off, bad things just keep appearing in this story for some reason... **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors**

**Chapter Six**

Sonya stole a glance at Crowfeather's sleeping form. He _was_ awfully cute... But he was a different species _and _he had a mate on top of that. She smiled; she could stay happy being friends.

He shifted slightly in his sleep and she felt a pang of longing. Not for Crowfeather exactly, but for her home, her family... her possible mate. Her and Palefur had been so close. And the migration would have brought them even closer... if only she hadn't been so stupid.

_It had been a bright day in late summer, and her and her pack were passing through the valley on their way to the winter hunting grounds. Blackpelt, their leader, had warned them: "The two-legs here are wary. We must watch and be cautious in the face of danger."_

_At the time she had nodded, but now she realized that it had been automatic, the expected reaction from even a young member of the pack. But the sun had felt so warm on her back, and Palefur's enthusiasm for the trip was catching. She had sprinted ahead, enjoying the wind in her fur and the sweet scents of summer._

_And then it had all come crashing down. She caught a whiff of two-leg scent and decided to check it out. The pack was not far behind and she figured that she could reach them if anything went wrong. She padded forward cautiously, nose to the ground. She located the source of the smell: a tiny lump beneath the fallen leaves. Still wary, she prodded the lump with a hesitant paw... And the next thing she knew, pain was searing up her leg and she stuck. It was that easy. _

_The pack found her the instant she howled, but their poking and prodding and prying did nothing to sway the iron bars that locked her to the ground. In the end, they were forced to leave, by hunger and threatening weather. They left her a rabbit to eat and promised to come back for her... But she knew these were vague, uncertain promises._

_The pain had been awful, but far worse had been the look of terror and unfathomable pain on Palefur's face. He had been the last to go, lingering, reluctant, his paws stumbling over the smallest dip in the ground. The last look he gave her lingered in her mind, full of longing; pleading for a forgiveness that she could not give._

There was a sudden clang as Tom entered the holding room, food in hand. He pushed the limp rabbit into Sonya's cage, patting her gently on the head. She sighed and prodded the thing with her paw. It flopped over lazily. How she missed pack life. How she hated her newly compromised existence.

Crowfeather was stirring in his cage, awakened by the wafting rabbit smell, unaware of the turmoil in Sonya's heart. He dug in and she reluctantly began as well, cutting into meat she didn't want. She hadn't caught this prey. She hadn't felt its last heartbeats, seen its eyes glaze over with the final end. This wasn't her catch and this wasn't her life. The _true_ Sonya was out there somewhere... roaming the prey-rich forest, free of harm. With four good paws and endless energy she bounded across the dale.

POV

Squirrelflight woke with reluctance, clinging to the final threads of her fading dream. They had been running, just her and Brambleclaw, laughing as if nothing could ever harm them again. It had been summer and the grass so springy under their paws. Brambleclaw had been so playful, his scent filling the air... It still did. Wait...

The true Brambleclaw's scent came to her, mingled with blood and pain. The harshness stung her nose and she snapped out of her daze. Her muscles were stiff from a night unprotected in the dewy grass. Brambleclaw's back was against hers, and he shifted when she stood. Sweet, sweet Brambleclaw. His fur was a tangle and matted impossibly. She could see the thorns; they were everywhere, haunting her with threats of death and worse. She flexed her claws; the shock was over, she was shaking no longer. With a steady hand she drew out thorn after thorn, making a huge pile on the rocks around her.

Her heart quailed when she got to the final thorn; it was the most dangerous of all, hinting at blindness, so close to the eye.

He had not moved during the entire operation, but he shuddered when she gently touched the dreaded wound. She licked his cheek and he stilled, calm beneath her touch. She dipped down, locking the thorn between her teeth, repeating the process for the last time. She knew by now that each thorn had a curve to its spine, and that if she didn't pull it just right it would never come out. She shifted her grip and began to pull...

POV

Leafpool could feel herself sinking back into her own body, her fur suddenly cold as it never could be in Starclan, her cheek pressed against smooth stainless steel. She tried to lift her head, but didn't quite succeed; it hurt so much just to move. The anesthetic had worn off completely now and the pain was back, haunting her every breath. But her front legs felt different in a good way. She felt them twitch and when she asked them to move they performed, if weakly. She never knew what happened between her arrival at the center and waking up in that cage, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. All she knew was that something had fixed her paws and that the two-leg who'd taken them had something to do with everything.

She sighed, then regretted it as the pain shocked her again. But as before, it meant that she was still alive. That her heart still beat with vigor and Crowfeather did not have a loss to mourn. She could smell food nearby and wondered if she could reach it. It took her half an hour of struggle to maneuver around so that she could reach the food. And then she had to chew and swallow so painstakingly to avoid the lurking pain. It almost wasn't worth it. But it tasted so good, and she could feel a little strength come into her as she chewed methodically.

When the mouse was gone she tried to look around, but their wasn't much worth craning her neck for. Her cage had padded fur that gave off heat somehow, an empty dish (wear the mouse had laid), a water fountain and several slots from which a strange daylight seeped. She tried to look further, but she was sleepy again and instead she curled into a tiny ball and fell into another, more natural, sleep.

POV

Crowfeather ate ravenously. He hadn't been doing much in his cage, but his appetite still lingered from his three day fast. Sonya seemed reluctant to eat, and he was glad when she nibbled at her rabbit, hoping that she wasn't sick.

He washed methodically after he was finished and could see Sonya watching curiously out of the corner of his eye. He nearly laughed at the thought of _her_ grooming. He gave his chest one final lick and then turned to Sonya.

"How did you sleep?"

"Fine," she still seemed out of sorts; her curiosity vanished with his voice and a gleam of anger lit her eyes.

"Are you sure everything's alright?"

She hesitated, then shook her head, spitting venomously (almost hissing he thought), "No. How could anything be right when I am trapped in this dungeon, with steel beneath my paws and netting above my head? How could anything be fine when my life is wasted here and the forest is polluted with two-leg menace?!"

He looked at her again, rather taken aback, "I didn't know you felt that way."

"No, you wouldn't," her voice echoed frostily and Crowfeather knew he'd been dismissed. Bewildered, he watched as she curled into an impossibly tight ball and fell asleep (or at least pretended to) with her nose to the wall.

POV

The few heartbeats took a lifetime, the thorn slowly drawing out of the wound with an eerie slurp. Finally the very tip of the thorn was out and it was over... well almost. Blood began welling up, pooling over his closed eyelid with frightening speed. She lunged forward, tipping his head on its side, the blood now streaming down the side of his face. She managed to gather a handful of cobwebs and pressed them to the wound, desperate to stop the deadly outpour. But the blood continued to gush forth. It took many, many cobwebs to stop the bloody tide and she was exhausted when it was over, from running for cobwebs, to pressing them to the wound, time after time. She sat panting at his side, watching the remaining blood dry into his fur. He looked absolutely horrible.

Blood caked the entire left side of his face below the base of his ear. His fur was matted and a few thorns still escaped detection, tangling his pelt still further. His eyes were shut, one eyelid stuck tight with dried blood, making his right eye into an "empty" bloody socket. She felt like crying as she looked down at his battered body, lying in the wilderness. Or at least screaming and chucking something at the bush. But she could not do either, for she had to get Brambleclaw to shelter. Night was beginning and she wanted to be ready for it.

She stumbled a little as she dragged him through the grass and she could feel weariness creeping into her bones. It had been a long day and her paws felt like lead as she deposited her mate onto a bed of moss, checking the inside of a hollow tree stump. The rotten wood was pungent as she stepped within its confines and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. But nothing stirred and it would be a solid shelter for one night. She yawned appreciatively and went back outside to bring Brambleclaw in for the night. He lay stiff as a rock, pathetically still in the dying light. She gazed at him amorously and touched his cheek with a tender paw, her eyes full of love and the hope that comes with it. The moment died away and she shook herself, dragging him inside their den and grooming his fur as the last light faded into darkness.

POV

Sonya turned her back to Crowfeather, deliberately pointing her nose to the wall. She felt so angry all the sudden, like something inside her had snapped and all her rage was coming loose in a blinding flood. She felt a little bad for taking her revenge on Crowfeather, but that feeling was quickly buried in her newfound wrath. She felt like attacking her cage; like tearing the sheet metal apart with her teeth and hiding the pain in her triumph! Like snapping at Tom when he came to feed her and nipping Crowfeather's tail when he got close... like destroying anything or everything.

But she didn't. She battled the emotion, thinking of how it would hurt her teeth to bit into the cage and how it would hurt Tom and Crowfeather to sink her fangs into their skin. She wanted to pace around the cage... no, to sprint! But it was barely wide enough to turn around in, let alone run! Tom came in, holding a strange rope in his two-leg hands, swinging it as he walked. What was he doing here without food? She pointed her nose to the air and took a deep breath; he smelled of sweat and blood and his normal cologne, but there was excitement there and... rope?

Sonya tilted her head at him, involuntarily whining. She wished he would open the back of her cage so that she could enter her outside-cage, the one where she went to relieve herself, but he didn't unlock the metal flap. Instead, he reached in her cage and attached the strange rope to the thing around her neck! Now he was pulling on the rope, hard! She growled at him, showing her teeth, but the thing around her neck tightened, the metal loops biting into her neck! She lunged backward, desperate to escape, but he tugged the rope in mid-air and she came sliding out of her cage, lying in a humiliated pile on the floor.

Her paw began to throb and she whined at him, purposefully pointing to her cage, begging him to understand. But he ignored her and pulled the rope even harder, dragging her alone the slick tile, her blunt, useless claws scrambling for traction. She finally gave up and began to limp after him, weaving like a drunken sailor to keep her balance. Her paw hurt too much to put on the floor; she hadn't used it in weeks and her leg muscles were soft and flabby now, not yet ready to walk again. She tried to tell him as much, explaining in Cat and Wolf and even the strange Barker dialect that the domesticated dummies used, but Tom just tugged obliviously on his stupid rope.

Curiosity got the best of her however, and she began sniffing around, wondering where she was. The grass under her paws was unusually soft and it smelled like cloth, not like dirt and growing as normal grass did. She even smelled some sort of two-leg cleaner in it! Her delicate nose told her everything and she got a smug satisfaction from it; that was one thing cats couldn't do! She sniffed again and got a picture of the strange, honeycomb den. There was a room that smelled deliciously of cooking food, a room that smelled of some strange two-leg chemical and lot's of water, and even a room that smelled of Tom and his cologne. There was much more of course, and she wanted to smell it all, but Tom wanted her to walk for some reason, jerking on the leash whenever he thought she paused for too long. The sky was still missing and there were strange wooden not-trees scattered throughout the two-leg den; Sonya wondered if all two-legs lived like this.

And where _were_ the other two-legs? Didn't the two-leg have a pack? Where were his cubs, his life-mate, his leader? Or maybe, he _was_ the alpha! She was so confused! His den was not beneath the ground as it should be (she was sure of this!), and there was no entrance/exit to the outside anywhere! There _were_ strange holes in the den where the outside world peeked in, but they were high up, and Tom dragged her away from them when she went to look further.

And so they paraded around the entire den, Sonya still on her leash. Once she smelled a strange cat and lunged for it excitedly, hoping it was the mysterious Leafpool, but Tom yanked hard on the leash and threw her to the ground. She walked carefully after that. Finally, they went back to Sonya's cage. Her paw hurt horribly now, but she was excited. Maybe Tom would let her go soon! She could walk now and he had shown her his den... maybe her and Crowfeather could be free!

But then Sonya remembered: her friend had a mate. Where could she be? Sonya had seen the entire den... but she hadn't smelled anything like Crowfeather's sweet scent, and Tom had kept her away from the strange cat... Sonya hung her head; what would she tell Crowfeather?

Sonya didn't know that there was another room, the intensive care unit, where Leafpool was held and where Tom wouldn't let her go. So Sonya was left to worry about Leafpool and her mate and whether or not to tell Crowfeather about the strange cat.

POV

Leafpool shook her head groggily her eyes caked with sleep-dust. Where was she? She looked around through slitted eyes, not quite taking in the metal bars around her. And then the pain swept in and recognition with it. She tried to stand, or at least get into a sitting position, but her paws slid on the heated pad and her claws were little help, simply gluing her to the ground. She gave up moving and wondered if there was any more food, she was ravenous!

Sure enough, there was another mouse in the tiny two-leg dish and Leafpool struggled for it once again, crippled by her slowly healing injury. She felt more alert today, like she was finally becoming herself again after a long trip away. She smiled faintly; it was good to be back. Since she was feeling better, she decided to look around a little, "see the sights." By twisting her neck she could almost see her entire cage, although it didn't feel so good on her whiskers or on her neck.

Frankly, there wasn't much to see. Just more metal and heating pad and cage. Maybe smelling would be more fruitful... She took a deep breath, mouth open to drink in the scents. There was harsh two-leg chemical, and the mouse's remains and something else... She took a deeper breath, trying to recognize it, her brain scrambling frantically...

Crowfeather...

**Okay, I just realized some people may not know what I mean by POV. Okay, when that shows up, it just means that I'm changing the Point Of View, okay? Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.**

**And also, I'm not sure that cats can blush. Oh well. **

**If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but this is **_**my**_** story after all.**

**Chapter Seven**

Tom peered into Leafpool's cage. She had eaten two mice now and he felt much better about her chances of survival. And Sonya was improving as well. They had completed a good walk around the house today and he was sure that she could be released soon, hopefully with Leafpool and Crowfeather in tow. He wondered vaguely if he should move Leafpool closer to Crowfeather, but was distracted by a sudden caterwaul. He sprinted over to the holding room, hoping it wasn't the orange tom again.

POV

Squirrelflight slept much later than she had planned. She had hoped to be up before the sun, so that she could doctor Brambleclaw and hunt and still have time to look for a new camp, but there wasn't going to be time for all that now.

Brambleclaw had kept her up most of the night, shifting in his sleep, suddenly meowing, clawing her fur... She yawned. It was past sun high now and she was still tired! She looked over at Brambleclaw. He was sleeping peacefully now, the mouse brain! She moved to get up, but sank back down. She wasn't any good when she was tired like this! Sighing, she collapsed into a comfortable pile away from Brambleclaw's sudden moves and fell into a deep sleep, her weary body finally at peace.

POV

Leafpool swore to Starclan that Crowfeather was in the cage beside her. His scent wreathed around her, making her paws light and her eyes shine. She meowed desperately to him, "Crowfeather! I'm here!"

To her horror, an angry hiss came spitting back at her face, "Shut up mouse brain! Like you've let any of us get sleep last night!"

Leafpool's sight went blurry with shock; "C-Crowfeather?" her voice was scarcely a whisper, but the cat next to her picked it up, not realizing how horrified Leafpool was at the moment.

"What are you talking about you idiot she-cat?" it was a hiss again, very like Crowfeather's own. But Leafpool didn't answer. She had fainted dead away, crumpled in a dejected heap, rebuked by the love of her life.

POV

Crowfeather looked over at Sonya cautiously. Ever since the first walk Sonya had been very quiet, often staring into the distance, preoccupied by some problem he didn't know about. He had wondered several times if he should ask her about it, but he didn't feel he knew her well enough to pry. He sighed, why were females so complicated? One minute Sonya was furious with him, the next she was staring at him with such pity that Crowfeather wondered if someone had died! He shook his head wearily.

Tom came in with the usual food and Crowfeather ate a little of it, just to make the two-leg happy. He hadn't been feeling hungry lately; he needed to go outside, to exercise and hunt. Then and only then, would he be truly hungry.

He was sure that Sonya felt the same way, but whenever he tried to talk to her she answered softly and in only a few short words. All the same, he'd better try again.

He padded closer to the bars that separated them and mewed, "Hey Sonya. Are you feeling okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sonya stared at him, not exactly angry, but there was emotion there... too bad Crowfeather couldn't identify it!

"Well, you've been really quiet lately and I was just wondering if I could help you with something..." Sonya's expression softened and she glanced away from him for a minute, as if ashamed she'd let her emotions show.

Sonya glanced at him again, then away, "Nothing's wrong Crowfeather, I've just been tired after the walks, that's all."

She lay down now, as if her answer solved the problem, but Crowfeather didn't want to let this drop, "You don't _look_ tired after a walk."

"Well I am. Just let me sleep Crowfeather," she actually sounded tired now, but Crowfeather still didn't think that was the answer. However, Sonya was pretending to be asleep (he knew her well enough that he could tell) and he decided to let the matter rest, maybe even get some sleep himself. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Tomorrow was another day.

POV

Squirrelflight yawned and stretched. Sunlight was pouring into their den and she felt good! She had had a nice long nap and although it was late, she decided to go hunting and get rid of some of her energy before night fell and she had to sleep again.

Stalking carefully through the underbrush she quickly caught a squirrel at the edge of a stream, then a mouse. She picked both up and carried them back to the den, hoping Brambleclaw would wake up and eat. She was worried; he hadn't eaten in three days and he would need all the strength he could get to heal his wounds.

When she arrived back at the den he was stirring somewhat and murmuring something in his sleep. She dropped the mouse in front of him and ate her own squirrel, then began grooming his shoulder, hoping he would wake. And he did.

He slowly opened his eyes and then blinked at her as if surprised. She nudged the mouse towards him, happiness filling her to the brim. He had slept for a long time and his wounds were all scabbed over now; maybe they could leave soon!

But after he finished the mouse he simply threw half of it up again. His eyes, she realized, were rheumy and his fur was unkempt. Maybe it wasn't time to leave yet. She sighed softly to herself and gave him a few poppy seeds; she had had time to collect some herbs and she remembered poppy seed as one of the best things for sleep and pain. He lapped them up obligingly and curled back up to sleep. It was going to be a long wait.

POV

Leafpool awoke slowly, her senses and memory foggy. She wasn't lying in her comfy nest, but was sprawled across the cold cage floor. How had she gotten here? Suddenly she remembered Crowfeather and a cry of despair squeaked out of her before she could stop it. Did he really hate her?

"So you're awake again," it was the same voice as before, not so angry this time.

When she didn't answer immediately he spoke again, "I didn't mean to scare you, it's just that you've been yowling in your sleep; none of us got any rest for days!"

"Oh. I'm sorry," Leafpool didn't sound particularly sorry; Crowfeather shouldn't have yelled at her... he wouldn't have said anything at all! Would he?

"Well I guess it's okay, just try not to say anything in you sleep next time... Do you have a name?"

Leafpool stared at the side of her cage. What was he talking about? Didn't he recognize her voice? This was getting weird. "I'm Leafpool, Crowfeather," she murmured, hoping it would jog his memory.

"Why do you keep calling me that? My name is Longclaw!"

Now Leafpool was _really_ confused! Who else could it be, but Crowfeather? It was the same voice, the same scent... it should be the same _cat_! Wondering if she had gotten something wrong, she took a deep breath of his sweet scent... yes it was the same... but there! Instead of springy heather there was a hint of forest underbrush in the scent, and something else as well... another she-cat?!

"Do you have a mate?"

"Oh, so we're getting personal now? Well I did have a mate once; Tigerlily was her name. But here we aren't allowed to have mates and Tigerlily is gone anyway," he sounded horribly sad and Leafpool flinched at her mistake, but at least she knew this could not be Crowfeather. And Tigerlily... she must have been a rogue like this cat!

Smiling now that the confusion was over, she spoke again, "I had a mate once too. Crowfeather. And as soon as I get out of this cage I'm going to find him again!"

Longclaw laughed harshly, "That's what I thought too. I'll leave and she'll be waiting for me and everything will be the way it was. But I've been here for three moons. I doubt there's anyone waiting for me."

Leafpool recoiled in horror, how negative this strange tom was! And she began to wonder. What if Crowfeather_ wasn't_ waiting for her when she escaped... No! Crowfeather would wait for her no matter what! They promised each other! And she wasn't nearly ready for escape anyway; she could scarcely stand even after sleeping several days away!

"Crowfeather will wait for me. We ran away to be together and there is no way he will abandon me here," Leafpool hoped she sounded confident; she had to believe that herself if she was ever going to escape!

"Sure, sure. That's what I thought too." Leafpool sensed that the conversation was over and she nibbled at the mouse Tom had left her, hoping _she_ was right.

POV

Squirrelflight sprang lightly, her lithe body making no sound as it flew through the air, leaving the sparrow trapped beneath her paws. The tip of her tail curled in satisfaction; the hunting had been good today. She took her catch back to the den where Brambleclaw should be awake; he was still sleeping late, even after a few days. Right now he was claiming to be better, but she knew he wasn't ready for travel just yet.

"Hi Squirrelflight!" he sounded healthy enough, but she could see his ribs as she slid into the shady den.

He eagerly swallowed the sparrow as she ate the vole she'd caught near the stream. They then curled up together to share tongues.

"How do you think Thunderclan is doing without us?" that was Squirrelflight; lately she'd been wondering if Firestar would have to send a patrol for them after all!

"Hopefully better than we're doing without them!" Brambleclaw's voice was playful, but Squirrelflight wished he wouldn't joke about that. It still hurt to see his scrawny form, and lately she'd been having horrible dreams where the entire clan went tumbling down a hill, falling and falling away from her to die among the thorns... she shook her head. That was a mouse-brained dream!

"Well I hope you're ready to travel again soon. If we stay here too long it will be Leafbare and then what will we do?"

"Oh lighten up Squirrelflight! I'll be better long before then! But how about we get some sleep now?" he curled into a tighter ball and Squirrelflight reluctantly did the same. She wished he didn't insist on sleeping so often; it made her wonder if he was sicker than he claimed. Starclan protect us, Squirrelflight plead as she drifted off to sleep.

POV

Crowfeather stretched and felt the muscles in his back shift with satisfaction. It had been many days now, since Sonya's first walk, and she had finally lost her iciness. It was easy to see Sonya living in the shelter with him, together forever... too easy. He knew he should try to escape, try to find Leafpool, but the steel bars defied him and the food was so good and so easy to get... Stop! He forced himself to think harder. Is that any way for a clan cat to feel?

Angry with himself, he stood and began to pace. Tom hadn't let him out of his cage yet, only Sonya. And he doubted that Tom would start now. No, there had to be a better way...

POV

Sonya watched Crowfeather pace, wondering if he still thought of his beloved mate, stolen away by the two-leg, injured and alone in her own steel cage. Sonya sighed. She could have had a love like that... But no. She shook her head, ridding herself of the bad memories that always accompanied Palefur. Why did he have to be so beautiful? Or perhaps it was her own faulty memory, telling her stories of his shining pale fur, his deep brown eyes, his flawless muscles...

Sonya shook her head yet again, wondering if she was going crazy. Focus on Crowfeather! What could be making him so angry? It had been a long time since he had first come to the shelter and his mate may even have forgotten him... Is that what bothered him so? The reason behind his angry muttering, his lashing tail, his endless pacing, his fiery glare? No, that would have brought despair, the same emotion that had crippled her in the beginning, that had made her endlessly tired; had made her tail drag and her hunger ebb. Yes, despair was slow and endless, the hunter that never let go of its prey. But it had let go of her. A few months, a coaxing caregiver, a newfound friend, and she had become herself again. But did Crowfeather have that much time to lose?

Refocus, she thought, don't think about those years. Perhaps it was the thought that she had found someone else. Or maybe that he hadn't tried to rescue her, that he had let her waste away alone while he enjoyed his free food and new friend. Yes, it was probably the latter. That would explain the pacing, the anger, the endless muttering. Maybe he would find a way to get them all out! Smiling softly (for she was lost in her own illusion of happiness as often happens to mammals of the canine persuasion) she curled up into a ball, leaving Crowfeather to build them a door to the outside world.

POV

Leafpool woke to a faint scratching noise. It was annoying and sharp, like the soft dying screeches of an innocent bird. Leafpool frowned. What kind of thought was that? She had killed plenty of birds and never felt sorry for any of them! Shaking her head, she looked around, searching for the source of the persistent sound. And there it was. A gleam of sliver-white claws, digging into stainless steel. They really were long claws.

"Are you awake finally?" the plaintive meow came from next door and the long claws drew back, the terrible sound ending with them.

"Yes you silly fur-ball! And for your information, it's not even sunhigh yet!" Leafpool glanced up at the single opening in the strange room.

She could just see the opening from the corner of her eye. She was fairly sure it was the sun that was lighting the window way up there, and it always glowed when sunhigh arrived. Right now the light was still quite dim; it couldn't be long after dawn.

"Okay, okay! No harm meant! What did Tom bring you today?" Leafpool had just learned Tom's name and it still felt strange on her tongue.

"Just the usual, a scrawny mouse and a water vole," Leafpool pawed the food with disgust. She was sick of food with a strange two-leg taint. She could walk fine now and the pain was minimal. Why hadn't Tom let them go?

Longclaw called to her, bringing her back with his sweet scent. It was still strange, how alike Longclaw and Crowfeather were, how close their lovely scents. She blushed. How could she think of another cat that way?

Longclaw was still talking, oblivious to her absence, "...and I really think Tom should do something about that you know?"

"Hmmm? Oh! Yes... Yes of course."

"Okay, what's on you mind? You didn't hear a word I said did you?"

Leafpool blushed again. What was wrong with her? "Of course I heard you! Every word!"

"Then what was I talking about?" she could almost hear Longclaw laughing to himself.

"Well, you were... um..." Longclaw's deep laughter sent shivers down her spine. How close his voice, even his laughter was to Crowfeather's own!

"I was _saying _that Tom should update his stock. This food is horrible! Tasteless, with no thrill of the hunt in it, no warmth in the blood, you know?"

Leafpool stared at his cage. He was a rogue, wasn't he? She thought that most rogues lived off kitty-pet food, only hunting when they absolutely had too... "Yeah, that's exactly how I feel."

Longclaw noticed the strange tone of her voice, "Okay, now what's wrong?"

"Well, I... Have you ever been in a clan before?" there, she'd said it.

"A clan?" the puzzlement in his voice was almost funny, "What's a clan?"

"You know, a group of cats living together? They help each other and teach the kittens how to hunt and follow the warrior code..." she trailed off uncertainly.

For a few long moments, Longclaw was silent. Then came the hesitant reply, "You mean like a tribe? We used to be part of a tribe once... Me and Tigerlily."

Leafpool stared at the cage in shock. She was living next to a genuine "clan" cat! It was like the Tribe of Rushing Water all over again!

"Can you tell me more?"

"It was... It was the best thing that ever happened to us. I don't know what you meant by the warrior code, but everything else... It was just like you said. My mother was part of the tribe before I was born and Tigerlily was a rogue that the tribe adopted. We grew up together, two kittens with the strongest friendship in the tribe. We became mates when we became Hunters. It was the best life... There was trouble too, of course. There were always badgers and things... but the taste of fresh kill and the pride that we got in protecting our tribe... it was all worth it."

Leafpool couldn't help it, she began to picture her own clan, her own relationships, her own friendships as a kit. It was worth it. And she had given it all up for her mate. Would Longclaw have done that?

"What made you leave? Did something happen?" Leafpool had to know; it would drive her crazy, not knowing why this young cat left the perfect tribe, just as she and Crowfeather had left.

There was silence, then a faint and wistful voice, "Nothing. There was no attack, no foxes or badgers. We were hunting during a storm. And that sounds foolish I know, but that was always when the river was highest and the fish were easiest to catch. Tigerlily and me, down by the rockiest part of the river. We knew the storm would be bad, so we had picked the place with the most claw-holds. But in the end it didn't matter."

He paused for a short moment, lost in memory, and then continued again, "It came so fast that we didn't have time to move. A wall of water and the debris within it. We heard it come, but we thought it was the thunder that had been rolling across the sky. It wasn't. It came crashing down on the beach just as I was about to catch one last fish before heading back to camp. We didn't have a chance. I swept so far down river that I couldn't even recognize the shore, let alone in my dazed state. I don't even remember leaving the water. I remember it pulling at me, sucking at my paws, making my fur weigh a hundred pounds. But I don't remember leaving it. When I woke up, I was in this cage and half-drowned. It was hard to breathe, but I still called for her. I still tried. Tigerlily... But she wasn't here. And I won't ever see her again."

Leafpool didn't know what to say. She stared at her paws as if they would give her the words she needed to comfort him. But they remained silent. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

The anger in his voice was frightening. She curled up into a tight ball, glad that his story was not her own.

**Okay, I hope you guys liked it! It might not be my best because I'm kind of wrestling with writer's block, but I tried my hardest! Please review! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**All right, I know I've kept you guys waiting for a while and I'm truly sorry! So here it is! Shiny and new! I didn't spend much time editing, so I hope it's good! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Erin Hunter owns the Warrior series. Not me.**

Eveningstar took a deep breath of the cool night air. So many lovely scents… there was prey scent, plant scent, his patrol… Wait.

He sniffed harder. What was that? It was faint, but distinct: cat. And not a cat he recognized either… now that he was focusing it smelled like more than one! The hair on his back began to rise. Intruders!

He backed up slowly, and Oaktail immediately came up beside him. The dark tabby was an amazing deputy, and Eveningstar was glad that he was on the patrol.

"What's wrong?" Oaktail immediately picked up his leader's tension.

"Take a deep breath."

Oaktail looked at him strangely for a minute, then lifted his head and sniffed. For a moment his features remained calm. Then his face lit up with recognition. "Intruders," he breathed.

Eveningstar nodded and signaled the rest of the patrol. It was a fair-sized border patrol, and Eveningstar knew they could easily take on a few strays.

The patrol fell into a circle around him and he began, "There is no need to be alarmed, but I believe there are rogues just outside our eastern boundary. Before we decide how to handle this, I want Birchpaw to find these rogues and report back to us. The rest of us will wait here. Any questions?"

No one moved. Eveningstar nodded at the apprentice and Birchpaw darted excitedly into the underbrush.

For several minutes nothing happened. Then the white and gray tabby crept into the clearing. "There are two of them and I think they're mates. But they're both asleep and the male looks injured. I don't think they'll put up much of a fight."

Birchpaw's chest swelled as Eveningstar nodded at him, "All right. If Birchpaw thinks there is no threat, I believe we should take these rogues back to camp still asleep. The entire tribe can certainly handle two rogues, and the strays will probably be disorientated to begin with. Oaktail, Shiningwater, you catch the rogues and carry them back to camp. Who knows? Maybe we'll even gain two new tribe members! Let's go!"

POV

Tom tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk. Where was she? She was supposed to be here ten minutes ago!

Suddenly the door bell rang. He jumped up to answer it.

And there she was. She was just as perfect as he remembered; the long blonde curls, the smart white uniform, the warm and welcoming smile…

"Good morning Dr. Newton," she was polite too!

"Good morning Lucille! And please, call me Tom," he patted his hair nervously, was it grayer than it had been on her last visit?

"All right, Tom. Who am I taking a look at today?"

Tom started, What? Oh, right, the animals. "I have a couple of new patients who are pretty close to healed, but I'm not sure that they should be put up for adoption, or even that they're ready for release."

"Well just lead me to them!"

Tom started to the back of the house where his clinic was located, frantically hoping he'd remembered to clean up a little back there.

And he had. The cages gleamed in the fluorescent light as eager faces pressed up to the bars and small animal noises came floating out.

"So which ones am I looking at again?" Lucille was stroking a crippled German Sheppard's head through his cage's bars.

"Here," Tom pointed into the black male cat's cage. The tom shrank to the back of the cage, its eyes burning fiercely.

Lucille smiled softly, "Poor little kitty. But I don't think this one's a candidate for adoption. Just look at that scowl; he'd never be happy as a house cat."

Tom nodded, "What about his neighbor? They seem to have hit off."

He pointed at Sonya's cage and Lucille gasped. "She's so beautiful!"

Sonya wagged her tail weakly, but didn't come up to the bars, preferring to stay just out of reach. She liked the smell of the woman though.

Lucille began chattering excitedly, "She's genuine wolf isn't she? I can't even tell that she was injured! Adoption is out of the question, but maybe a wolf sanctuary… Oh, she's gorgeous!"

Sonya's tail wagged a little harder. Tom smiled; Lucille was the only vet he'd ask on these matters. She had an eye for possibilities.

But then he shook his head, "She's sort of attached to the cat. It's kind of funny; they sleep with their backs touching through the bars and everything! If one goes the other should go with it."

Lucille nodded, "They're both certainly ready for release. Have you tested the wolf's paw yet?"

Tom nodded, "I've been taking her on walks through the house and I think she's ready to go."

"Well, are these two it?"

Tom only smiled and walked further down the aisle.

Two red-tailed hawks, one barn owl, three coyotes, and a gray fox later Tom took Lucille into the Intensive Care Unit.

"There are only two in here who might be ready to go…"

Tom stopped in front of Leafpool's cage, "This one and her neighbor."

Lucille smiled down at the two, cowering cats, "What happened to these two?"

Tom winced, "The male I found by the river, half-drowned and wheezing with pneumonia. And the female was caught in a fox trap, baited with a live mouse. The cat I showed you in the other room; I found him right next to her, yowling his lungs off. I think they're mates. And I'm hoping to release the three cats and the wolf together, but I'm not sure this female is ready."

Lucille studied Leafpool more carefully, "Can you take her out for me so I can examine her?"

Tom unlocked the cage and picked Leafpool up gently. Leafpool cowered and hissed, but didn't struggle; it was too painful.

Lucille cradled Leafpool carefully, "It's okay kitty. I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay…"

After a few minutes Lucille spoke to Tom again, "Have you let her out to walk at all?"

Tom shook his head sheepishly, he hadn't though of that…

Lucille lowered Leafpool onto the floor. Leafpool prepared to spring…

POV

Squirrelflight yawned and stretched luxuriously. Mmmm… her fur felt so warm. What a nice long sleep! She opened one eye a crack and suddenly worry shot through her. It was way past sun high according to the brightness of her den… Firestar would have her pelt!

And then her memory kicked in. Traveling herbs, Brambleclaw, Leafpool and Crowfeather, mountains, dens, sunsets, falling, thorns, Brambleclaw…

Instantly awake, she stood and quickly realized she was no longer in her and Brambleclaw's cozy den. She was surrounded by leaves that formed a cage around her, a thick, insulating wall. It was comfy and warm, and a good nest… But where was Brambleclaw?

Panicked now, she found an opening in the den and shot through it. But she found herself in a complicated maze of leaves and bushes. Where was she?! She was sprinting wildly now, taking whatever turns she had to. She couldn't see the outside world; she could smell strange cats everywhere! Once she even passed a little hollow to make dirt in! But she couldn't find a way out!

And then suddenly she shot into the open. Confused, she slowed to a stop. Was this her clan, this clearing filled with cats? She was confused, still dream-muddled. But a long look confirmed her doubts; this was not her clan.

A gigantic black and white tom came up to her slowly and she realized that the bustling camp had fallen silent. The tom frightened her. Her brain screamed, 'Threat!'

And so she pounced! He was taken completely by surprise and she felt him crumple beneath her weight. What was wrong with the cat? She had her claws in his back and all he did was squirm under her grip! Didn't he know how to fight? He continued to wriggle futilely and she grew more and more confused…

She sprung away neatly and the tom kept squirming for several minutes before he realized he was free. Squirrelflight backed into a rocky corner. She had to escape! But where was Brambleclaw?

She scanned the clearing and saw the cats coming towards her but there were no familiar faces, no comforting scents of the tabby she loved or even of her family. Only too clearly was she aware of that love. Only too clearly did she realize the feelings she had tried to keep buried for so long. And now they were useless. Her mate was lost.

POV

Leafpool was sprinting down the corridor, picking up speed. She couldn't believe how silly those two-legs were! Did they think she wouldn't try to escape when they gave her a clear route to the outside?

There was only one problem. Crowfeather. She had no idea where he was. And what about Longclaw? She was growing attached to him. He reminded her of Crowfeather so much…

Leafpool shook her head. She could hear the two-legs coming after her and she was losing speed. Plus her front legs were hurting a _lot_. They hadn't bothered her in days now, but since she was using them… the pain was back.

She'd made it to the door now and was slipping easily through. Maybe Crowfeather was waiting just out here! But no. It was some sort of two-leg camp, and it smelled incredibly strange. Where was the wind, the rain, the outdoors?

Oh well. She kept running, happy just to stretch out and finally be free after her long captivity. And soon she'd find Crowfeather!

The thought spurred her on. She could smell animal scent coming from another open door and she instinctively turned for it. The two-legs were just reaching the first door now.

Smiling Leafpool slipped through this door and into a world of shining cages, much like the one she'd just escaped. Animals were everywhere, and the scents were overwhelming. It took her a minute to find the scent she wanted. But it was there.

Crowfeather! His scent was so sweet, so perfect! She sped up and slid to a stop in front of the source. And there he was.

That perfect cat, eyes wide with surprise, and then brilliant with happiness. In seconds his nose was pressed to hers. They were both purring, so loud it was like there was nothing else. Just her and Crowfeather, the only ingredients in a perfect world.

Of course, the two-legs came then and ruined it. Scooping her up with their strange paws and yowling at her in their impossible to understand language. They sounded angry. Leafpool didn't care. She was still purring, impossibly happy, as the two-legs put her back in her cage.

POV

Tom mumbled apologies to Lucille, not realizing that she was smiling amiably over the whole incident, "…Really I'm sorry. I had no idea that she would take off like that! I know you aren't paid to deal with that… I'm really sorry…"

She held up a hand and he shut up. "Look, its okay, all right? It was really kind of cute how she stopped right in front of her mate's cage. There is no way you can separate them, got that?"

Tom nodded dumbly. What an amazing woman. To put up with things like chasing a wild cat through a house and call the whole thing cute… He smiled dreamily.

"Anyway, after that performance I think you should give her a day or two to recover and then she's all set for release. Those new front legs are amazing. You should really write a book on that surgery Tom, I've never heard of a case like it!"

Tom nodded sagely; he'd never heard of one like it either! And to tell the truth he knew he wouldn't ever write about it. That was a once in a lifetime performance.

Lucille was grabbing her coat now, preparing to leave all too soon.

He stood by the door and couldn't help speaking as she left, "Hey, if you'd like to come over some time, just to talk or something…"

Lucille smiled that magnificent smile, "I'd like that… Tom."

The door clicked shut behind her and he watched her walk out to her car through the living room window. Maybe people were okay too.

POV

Crowfeather smiled dreamily. She came! She really came!

He didn't know where she'd come from or how she'd found him, but she came! His nose was filled with her intoxicating scent, his heart pounded in his chest. Had she always been so beautiful, this angel of a mate?

He knew Sonya was watching him uncertainly, perhaps even hurt by the encounter, but he couldn't focus just now. She'd found him!

And her legs! The last time he'd seen her those front legs had been bloody stumps, with mangled flesh hanging from them, blood everywhere… And now they worked! They were like new! She could actually _sprint_ on them!

His heart was soaring above the clouds. She would be back. She'd free him and they would head off into the mountains together. Just the two of them. With a brand new future shining up at them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it's been a while, I've been having computer troubles and then I was really busy... But here it is!**

Squirrelflight pressed her back against the high, rocky wall. Cats were gathering around her now, looking curious, but too nervous to try approaching. She caught a low murmur of conversation floating through the crowd: "Birchpaw was so brave!" "... two of them..." "... eastern boundary..."

And then the mob of cats shifted, forming a narrow pathway through their center. There was a dusty black-gray tom coming through it, closely followed by a dark brown tabby whose amber eyes were narrow and full of suspicion. The leader and the deputy?

The first tom stopped a few paw-lengths from her, his eyes only curious and bright, bright green. He twitched his tail and the crowd fell silent. Definitely the leader.

He turned his gaze on her and spoke, "Greetings stranger. I am Eveningstar, leader and protector of my Tribe; The Tribe of Sun meets Stone. We found you and your mate on our eastern border and escorted you to our camp still asleep. We do not wish to hurt you and if you don't want to stay we will not force you. But before you speak we wish to welcome you with a Sing."

Squirrelflight shut her mouth, which she had opened to release a flood of questions, and watched in awe as the scene unfolded.

Eveningstar had turned and now he hopped on top of a large boulder, hanging over the heads of the assembled Tribe, facing her. All of the tribe members now burst into a flurry of action, scurrying around until the cats were all sorted from kits to elders in a silent, furry mass.

Squirrelflight shifted at first, under the weight of the stares of all the cats facing her, but then Eveningstar gave an unheard signal and the Sing began.

She wasn't immediately sure when she began to hear the Song. There was nothing, and then there was a soft, keening whisper at the very edge of her hearing. Gradually it grew, until she realized the sound was the singing of kits, high pitched and sweet. This part of the Song was about kithood, she realized. She could feel her mother's warm stomach, the soft down of her littermates, the taste of fresh milk, the cocoon of safety that was her kithood world. All was conveyed somehow, in the soft singing of the kits.

But it didn't stop there. Now the soft whine grew louder, swelling until she realized that the apprentices had joined in. The pitch lowered, but she could still hear the kits as the apprentices took over. This part was full of excitement. She could feel the vastness of her new world, the pride that surged through her as her mentor licked her head, the joy of learning to hunt, the new connections she made in her clan, and even the tender beginnings of love. And once again she felt it all through the song.

She was so caught up in the newfound joy of apprenticeship that she hardly noticed when the Song grew yet again. But slowly the new timbre in pitch caught up to her and she saw the Warriors joining in with open mouths. This was the largest part of the Tribe and also the largest part of her life as a clan cat. The song was deep and yet she could still sense the whisper of kithood and the newness of apprenticeship. She felt pride again, this time on her own as she was appointed a warrior by her leader, she felt the blood lust of first battle, the sorrow of her clanmates suffering and dying around her, the crispness of dawn patrol, the softness of true love, the instinctive knowing of the Warrior Code, and the loyalty burning deep within that she had had the entire time but only truly discovered now. And yet she knew this was not the end of the Song.

For now the elders joined in, and though the Song did not grow louder and the pitch did not change she could tell. There was only a new rasp of age, a new calm that came with experience, a new sureness to the tune of life. She felt things she had not yet experienced in this part of the Song, the calm acceptance as she retired to the elders' den, the wisdom that now dwelled within in her, the laughter and longing as she watched kits and new apprentices grow as she once had, and a new tone of sadness, for more of her old friends were dead now than alive. The Song slowed now, like the heartbeat of an elder, pumping gradually to a stop. She could hear all four pieces of the Song now, each separately defined, and each important, yet completely intertwined. From the whisper of kithood to the rasp of an Elder, they all drew to an end. The Song faded and faded and faded... and then the clearing was silent, all the voices quiet, and all the cats somber and still. And Squirrelflight could have sworn she saw the cats of Silverpelt walking up from the canyon and into the sky.

Suddenly Eveningstar ducked his head and just like that the mood was gone. Squirrelflight felt stiff and looking up she realized much time had passed during the magical Sing. The crowd was dissipating now and some of the kits had to be carried back to the nursery dead asleep. Squirrelflight realized she had no idea what she should be doing.

Eveningstar saved her yet again, padding straight from the rock to her. His eyes glowed with pride as he spoke in his deep tom voice, "How did you like our Song?"

Squirrelflight smiled and blushed a little, suddenly nervous under his steady gaze, "It was the most amazing thing I've ever heard."

Eveningstar smiled back, "Good."

And Squirrelflight followed him back to her new den.

POV

Leafpool groaned softly; light was streaming into her cage but it was way too early for her to be awake.

It was Longclaw of course, prodding her with his namesake, "Come on sleepy head! No way would we sleep this late in the Tribe!"

Leafpool spat at him, stupid tom! "This is **not** a Tribe and you just woke me up for no reason!"

She could almost see Longclaw's fur ruffling even though she was turned away from his cage, "Hey, take it easy! It's not my fault you decided to take off like a crazy cat yesterday!"

Yesterday! Leafpool grinned and got up to stretch, remembering her love and her adventure. Ouch. Stretching was a bad idea. She felt like she'd been dragged through fifty nettle patches and then had battle training for two days nonstop.

"Why does it have to **hurt** so much?!"

Longclaw's laughter was the only answer and all that did was make her want to claw his ear off.

Trying not to moan when every movement hurt, she dragged herself to the front of the cage where Tom had left the usual mouse. The food tasted good and she knew she would survive, even though right now she could barely flex her front paws.

When she was done eating she forced herself to lick every inch of her sore legs, ignoring Longclaw's attempts of conversation. By the time she was satisfied and her front paws were working again, Tom was coming down the hall with the sundown food. She could hear the other animals moving around, and it sent a shiver down her spine. It just wasn't natural for all these creatures to be in the same room together!

Tom tossed in a mouse and she gulped it down. She must be out of shape if one short run had made her this sore and hungry!

She was just about to curl up and go to sleep when Tom came back and stopped in front of her cage. What did the silly two-leg want now?

She still wasn't sure when Tom opened her cage and slipped something around her neck. Furious, Leafpool hissed at him and tried to claw his clumsy two-leg paws. Unfortunately, there was some sort of extra pelt over his paws and all that did was get her claws stuck.

She was still hissing when Tom lowered her onto the floor. Was the two-leg stupid? Oh well, apparently he hadn't learned from yesterday's stunt. But she wasn't hurting enough to consider not sprinting to Crowfeather.

She took a deep breath and then raced forward! Only to be yanked back, gasping, a moment later. What was going on?

She tried again, slower this time. Same result; the thing around her neck tightened until it was choking her! What kind of two-leg torture device was this?

She tried a couple of times before she let the despair sink into her. The two-leg was controlling her with the thing around her neck and now her head was pounding. So far Tom had not moved at all, only watched her struggle. Now, however, seeing that she was done trying to escape, he reacted. He took a few steps forward and the leash tightened again. Leafpool hurried forward to stop the choking. Tom kept taking steps. Cursing under her breath, Leafpool had no choice but to follow.

Tom lead her all through the strange two-leg camp, but not down Crowfeather's hallway, not even when she meowed very plainly to him and sat down in front of the correct opening.

By the time they were done her paws were on fire again and she was dragging behind Tom by several tail-lengths. She didn't even struggle as he slid her into her cage and took the thing off her neck. She felt Longclaw shift in the cage to her right, but she was way too tired to respond. Blackness claimed her before she even had time to curl up into a ball.

POV

Sonya could tell that seeing Leafpool had really helped Crowfeather's mood. He was grinning like a pup, waves of happiness and love washing into her cage from his. He smelled different too. Her sensitive nose could pick up that subtle difference. The spicy anger and sickening despair had temporarily fled, replaced by the sweeter scents of love and excitement.

She was happy for him, of course. He saw his mate, he knew she was alive and well... but it hurt her somewhere deep in her heart. She didn't know how Palefur was, wouldn't ever know again. And not only that, but those cinnamon-sugar scents hurt her nose, aggravated old wounds. She knew it was cruel, but she half-wished he would get over it so she wouldn't have to put up with the sickening rambles of a lovesick tom.

He was at it right now, actually, keeping up a stream of chatter though she'd given him no encouragement at all, "... It'll be so great Sonya! Me and her will be together forever and we'll all be free and everything will be just perfect! Don't you agree?"

Sonya sighed and curled into a ball with her back facing Crowfeather. Stupid broken heart.

She could almost see Crowfeather's puzzled look, "Sonya? Are you okay? Why aren't you answering?"

Sonya shifted a little... she didn't want to hurt him. But her heart was hurting and he didn't even know enough to help. Crowfeather kept mewing, hurt and worry reappearing in his voice and scent, but she just shut her eyes and fell asleep.

POV

Squirrelflight yawned sleepily and dug her claws into the soft mixture of sand and moss. The den was almost like hers back in Thunderclan! It was early, the light still gray, and she was surprised she was awake... she hadn't been staying on a schedule with just her and Brambleclaw to provide for. But now that she was awake she couldn't find sleep again. She was too excited!

Last night Eveningstar had taken her to the medicine cat den, where Brambleclaw was still snoozing. That worry taken care of, she had followed Eveningstar through the maze of greenery to the den they'd made for her. She had to admit it was very nice, and Eveningstar had promised to show her all around the camp today! She felt a little guilty that she wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon when Leafpool and Crowfeather were still out there, but Brambleclaw wasn't really fit for travel anyway...

She could hear cats stirring so she hauled herself to her paws and nudged her way out of her den. She knew from last night that this was the Warrior den, well the "Hunter" and "Patroller's" den, and that it was actually an enormous bush that had naturally formed tiny caves that were perfect for dens. And the "maze" wasn't that confusing at all if you knew where you were!

Now she picked her way around branches and brambles and pushed out into the before-dawn gray that lay over the camp.

Out in the open she suddenly felt very conspicuous. She hadn't really met any cats besides Eveningstar and his deputy, Oaktail. Luckily, she spotted both of them sharing a mouse a few tail-lengths from the fresh-kill pile.

Relieved, she padded over to them. Oaktail had originally been very suspicious of her and was not afraid of saying it, but last night they'd talked and he'd apparently decided that she was okay. Eveningstar had never been anything but curious and she was grateful for that. It was very nice of him to accept her and Brambleclaw like this; she could tell he was a good leader, being strong and wise, and yet still young enough to embrace changes in the Tribe.

Now Eveningstar was mewing at her, "Don't be shy. No one minds if you take something from the fresh-kill pile!"

She blushed. That was exactly what she'd been thinking; that the other cats might resent her for eating food that their kits and elders could eat. And it was strange that they used some of the same words that Thunderclan did; she'd assumed they'd be very different from the clans, but except for separating warriors into Patrollers and Hunters, they really weren't that different.

Eveningstar had explained that difference to her the night before; Patrollers were battle-trained, they kept up the boundaries and only hunted for themselves. Hunters were trained only in being the best and quietest hunters they could be, only learning a few shreds of defense in case of an all out battle. Squirrelflight couldn't imagine only being trained to hunt or only being trained to fight. She liked being a good balance of both...

She grabbed a vole from the pile and crouched down besides Eveningstar and Oaktail. Oaktail was muttering something about Patrols, but Eveningstar interrupted when she arrived, "We've discovered a fox on one of our borders. I'm afraid I'll have to have someone else show you around the camp..." Eveningstar looked around, then waved to a pretty calico she-cat with his tail.

She bounded over and up close Squirrelflight couldn't believe her beauty. Her pelt was smooth and silken, mostly orange and black with white paws and tail tip. Her Face was round and friendly, her eyes a warm amber. But somehow there was sadness in her expression, behind the friendliness.

Squirrelflight shook her head and spoke up, "Hi! My name's Squirrelflight."

The calico blinked, "Hi."

Eveningstar stood up suddenly, and Oaktail followed suit, "Oaktail and I have to leave. Show her around the camp... Tigerlily."

**Okay, I hope you enjoyed it! :) (And doesn't it just bug you when I throw something like that out there for you to chew on until the next update?)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Well, we've made it to double digits!! :) I've decided that Chapter Nine is my favorite chapter so far and I wouldn't mind knowing yours so I can find out what exactly you people like about my crappy story and put more of it in the story! So don't be shy, offer up your opinion! Also, reviews are what keep me writing (even when I'm busy or should probably be doing my homework!) as if you needed another reason to review... Thanks to all you loyal readers and here's hoping you enjoy this, now that you're done reading this ridiculously long introduction! :)**

Leafpool woke groggily to the prodding of an insistent paw. "Wha?" She couldn't quite make her mouth form coherent sentences.

"Come on Leafpool! You've been sleeping for almost two days! And you were only gone with Tom for a few blinks!"

Leafpool shook her head, reluctantly emerging from hibernation. Her paws throbbed hotly and the cool metal felt good on her pads as she sat up and stretched.

"Well I don't see you out there working your butt off!"

Longclaw only chuckled and Leafpool's mood soured further. Stupid tomcats, can't even tell when she's in a bad mood!

Longclaw started probing her for information as she crouched to gobble up her mouse; it felt like she hadn't eaten in a moon!

**"**So what exactly were you doing out there? I could see Tom had some sort of rope around your neck, but you went out of sight pretty quickly..."

She sighed and paused a moment to swallow before eating, "Tom slid something around my neck so I couldn't break free and then made me walk all through his crazy two-leg camp! It wasn't fun or even interesting and he wouldn't let me see Crowfeather. Are you happy now?!"

Longclaw's tone went from curious to hurt and defensive, "Hey, I wasn't the one dragging you through a two-leg camp! I just wanted to know what happened!"

Longclaw went silent then and she heard him shuffle around in his cage until his back was facing her. Great. Just great.

She didn't feel like soothing a tomcat's injured pride just now. Instead she curled up in a tight ball. Pointedly facing away from Longclaw's cage she fell back into an uneasy sleep.

POV

Squirrelflight shifted nervously on her paws as Oaktail and Eveningstar padded out of the camp.

Tigerlily seemed to sense her unease and immediately introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Tigerlily! And you're... Squirrelfight? Right?"

Squirrelflight giggled, "Um, actually it's Squirrel_flight_, not Squirrel_fight_!"

Tigerlily blushed, the picture of demure feminine felineness, "I'm so sorry! I could have sworn they said Squirrelfight! It was Blackpatch that told me!"

She waved her tail at the black and white tom that Squirrelflight had attacked on her first day in the tribe. They both burst out in laughter and just like that the ice was broken.

Tigerlily was the first to stop laughing, "Come on, there's so much for you to see!"

Squirrelflight sobered up and followed Tigerlily to a tunnel directly to the right of the green maze they called the Hunters' and Patrollers' den.

Tigerlily smiled at Squirrelflight's attempt to squint through the bright tunnel, "Don't even try looking through it; you'll only end up ruining your vision! This is our entrance tunnel. The entire camp is lodged in the side of a big rock hill. So the camp only gets truly bright at noon while the tunnel is blindingly bright all morning! The Patrollers and Hunters have to be close to the entrance because they go out so often and the bushes are the perfect size for their den. If anything ever broke in the camp we'd be on them like fleas on a fox!"

There was a fierce, burning expression on Tigerlily's face and Squirrelflight had to comment. "I take it you're a Patroller then?"

Tigerlily blushed once more, "Actually, I'm a Hunter. I wanted to be a Patroller, but Eveningstar said my hunting skills were too good to waste..."

She looked a little disappointed and Squirrelflight didn't know what to say. Luckily Tigerlily perked up by herself and lead her eager tourist to a narrow cave on the other side of the entrance tunnel.

Moss and lichen nearly concealed the cave's thin mouth and Squirrelflight shivered a little at the thought of walking through a cave with so little room to turn around.

Tigerlily saw the shudder and smiled reassuringly, "Oh don't be such a fraidy cat! This is the medicine cat den, so it's nice and safe! And I swear that the cave widens up quite quickly!"

With that the calico ducked under the curtain of moss and kept walking. Nervously Squirrelflight followed, her fur prickling where the moss scraped her back. Her shoulders brushed rock on both sides and steady dripping echoes filled the air. Claustrophobia made her heart pound faster and she sped up, half thinking the cave went on forever. Unfortunately she ran smack into Tigerlily's tail at full speed.

They both went flying down the tunnel, crashing to a stop in a surprisingly wide clearing. They both struggled to untangle themselves, Squirrelflight laughing at her blunder though her nerves were still on edge. Even the new medicinal smell of fresh herbs didn't quite vanquish her fear.

They were finally getting to their paws when a wise, echoing voice arose out of the dusky gloom, "Who intrudes on sacred ground? I can feel the paws of an outsider on clean Tribe soil!"

Squirrelflight gulped, for the last words came out as a gratingly high hiss.

Tigerlily replied quickly, "It's okay Herbsight! It's just me, Tigerlily, and Squirrelflight, one of the new members of the tribe!"

Squirrelflight blushed a little; she wasn't really a member yet! But it was definitely nice of Tigerlily to say so!

Unfortunately Herbsight must have caught Tigerlily's half-truth, "Who died and made you Leader? As far as I know the outsiders are still the outsiders! Foolish, meddling kits..." The sharp meow dissolved into dark muttering.

But Herbsight finally decided to leave the impenetrable depths of the cave's edge. A tall, skinny she-cat stepped into view, her paws firm and well placed on the slippery-smooth rock. Herbsight's coat was whiter than new-fallen snow, strongly reminding Squirrelflight of Cloudtail. But the dazzling coat was not the strangest thing about her; her eyes were a light, light blue, frosted over by a milky white film. Herbsight was blind!

As though sensing Squirrelflight's critical analysis, Herbsight spoke, "Now you see how I earned my name. I was blinded as a kit by a terrible plague of Green cough. None of my littermates survived. But I clung to life and then dedicated my short existence to helping others do the same... Would you like me to read you?"

Squirrelflight had been listening with growing pity despite the she-cats matter-of-fact tone, but the last question was almost friendly, and though she didn't know exactly what the query meant, she agreed with a quick nod.

Herbsight waited patiently. Blushing fiercely (she seemed determined to embarrass herself in front of the medicine cat!) Squirrelflight remembered Herbsight's ailment and spoke aloud, "I would be honored."

Herbsight nodded and turned abruptly, beckoning for Squirrelflight to follow. Squirrelflight stepped forward, then realized Tigerlily wasn't moving. She turned back and Tigerlily shook her head, "Only you may follow."

Squirrelflight shivered at the ominous tone in Tigerlily's words. What was she getting herself into?

As she followed the white she-cat (who practically glowed in the dark), Squirrelflight finally took a good look about the cave. The ceiling was high, so high that the top was hard to discern, especially with the sunlight peeking through and blinding her. Apparently the roof was not completely a roof. The edges of the cave were wrapped in deep shadow, but the rocks she could see were slate grey and worn to the slickness of ice by many paws. She could almost make out the individual paw prints of Herbsight's ancestors, leading forever onward in a winding, intricate stream...

Herbsight stopped without warning. Luckily Squirrelflight looked up before she stepped forward and didn't run into her guide. The medicine cat turned suddenly and stared directly into Squirrelflight's eyes, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

A cold wind seemed to blow over them, flattening Squirrelflight's fur. She shuddered, but the chilling breeze somehow hardened her reserve. "I'm sure."

Herbsight nodded softly and stepped unafraid into the black abyss of eternal shadow, towing Squirrelflight along behind.

POV

Crowfeather yawned and stretched lazily. Sonya had finally given up on giving him the cold shoulder and things were back to normal. He realized what he'd just thought and shook his head angrily. _This_ was not normal! Normal was clan life, or at least Leafpool and himself traveling on to a better future! Normal definitely wasn't this solitary confinement behind two-leg bars!

He was going soft in here. He could feel it. The other day he'd even purred when Tom arrived with his food! He was supposed to hate two-legs! He was supposed to refuse the easy-to-get, two-leg tainted food! But he didn't. He lounged around like a kittypet, enjoying his not-so-fresh meals, and batting at Sonya's tail for exercise!

What kind of failure was he? He hadn't learned anything new since arriving in his cage, he was on friendly terms with a dog, and Leafpool was somewhere suffering without him!

Okay, he didn't think of Sonya as a dog, more like a giant, quirky cat. And Leafpool was probably okay, judging by the fact that she had four legs to walk on again. But that was no excuse! He needed to exercise some restraint! He needed to break free of this two-leg imposed stupor!

He was just getting ready to plan his escape and his revenge on the evil two-leg who'd imprisoned him when Tom came by with the daily mouse.

The scent of fresh (okay, not-so-fresh) mouse floated towards him in a cloud of warm, micro waved goodness. His resolve wavered. He could always take up the fast tomorrow... He purred his thanks to Tom (maybe two-legs weren't that bad), and tucked in.

When he'd finished his meal he carefully cleaned his paws and promptly fell into a deep, comfortable slumber.

POV

Firestar paced back and forth with increasing speed, watching the soft sand of the leader's den fly beneath his paws. In seven sunrises it would be two moons since Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight left. The clan was well recovered and Barkface had finally left with Brightheart firmly in place as medicine cat. But Brightheart lacked experience and she was clearly nervous when a cat approached her with a medical problem.

The clan still needed Leafpool. And Sandstorm was bulging with kits as the two moon birth date approached. In three days she would probably have healthy kits to look after and he would be even more tied to camp.

As it was right now he barely left the camp except to attend gatherings and make dirt. He spent most of his time in the nursery, trying to quell the worry that boiled up in him every time he saw his mate lying prone on the nursery floor. When he wasn't watching Sandstorm and worrying as she maneuvered the hard camp floor, he was making the apprentices gather thorns so he could weave them into the nursery wall. Either that or organizing patrols from afar. But it was plenty enough to keep him busy.

And still the plight of his daughters took up space in his mind. They had a little over a moon to come back to Thunderclan. If they were any later than that he'd send Ashfur and Cloudtail out to discover the reason behind the delay. He prayed to Starclan that it wouldn't come to that.

Fed up with pacing his den, he swept out through the curtain of moss and into the bright sunlight. The calm murmur of a happy, well-fed clan soothed him. He saw mates sharing tongues on the rocks where the sun was brightest and the apprentices sharing fresh kill by their den. Green leaf was certainly a peaceful time. Prey was abundant and the sun warmed their fur. And even the other clans couldn't be budged from their comfy camps to bother them. He let out a deep breath and headed to the nursery, telling himself that everything would be okay.

POV

Tom whistled softly to himself as he delivered food to his hungry patients. He chuckled at the sight of them, pressed up to the bars in anticipation of the meal to come. They were such beautiful creatures, the lot of them. Such a shame for them to end up in his hobby-of-a-medical center.

But he felt good today. Because today was a Release Day.

He'd invited Lucille to come. He'd felt like a complete idiot, staring at the phone, wondering if he should call. Finally he'd just gotten it over with. She'd picked up on the first ring and that'd made him fumble a bit. But he'd managed to invite her, even if he'd ended up using the lame excuse that he might need another professional on hand to help.

He tossed the last mouse into the last cage and dashed down the hall full of cages, pausing only a moment to toss his lab coat on its hook. Soon he was done showering and was dressed in a nice tweed suit. He slicked his hair back with a touch of gel and liberally dabbed cologne on his neck and arms. Finally he looked in the mirror, readying himself for her arrival.

Of course at that moment the doorbell rang. He stumbled away from the mirror and hastily switched off the lights and arranged his suit as he strode towards the door.

He opened it carefully and there stood his angel, twenty times more perfect than he'd remembered. She smiled and he melted into a pool at her feet. How he longed to take her by the arm and sweep her off her feet...

She was starting to look a little nervous, shifting on her feet. Suddenly remembering his manners, he spoke, "Hello Lucille, I'm so glad you could come!"

Relief flooded her features and Lucille answered readily, "It's no problem Tom, really! And call me Lucy, would you?"

He nodded. Lucy. It had such a melodic ring to it... She was getting nervous again, "Right! Lucy! Come on in!"

He shifted aside and she stepped in. "So whom are you releasing today?"

He smiled again, "Well, you remember the cats I showed you last time? And the young wolf, Sonya?"

She nodded, "Of course! Are you sure they're ready though?"

He laughed. "If I keep them any longer they'll lose their competitive edge! I've been taking the she-cat out for walks every day and she's getting to the point where I can hardly tell she has a limp! I'm sure they'll be fine. And cats have an excellent memory; if they can't make it in the wild anymore they'll find their way back here."

She smiled and he began leading her down the hallway to the patients.

POV

Leafpool dug her claws into the cool loam of the earth. She could smell catnip and rabbit and Crowfeather on the gentle, springtime breeze. Crowfeather bounded up to her and they rubbed shoulders, purring like well-oiled motors. The sun was bright up ahead and dew lightly moistened her paws and Crowfeather and her strolled through the meadow.

Suddenly taken with the thought of a good roll, they found a nice patch of grass and flopped down. She rubbed her back into the soil and rolled about. The grass felt so good on her fur! She could hear Crowfeather moving beside her and suddenly he pounced! They tumbled down a hill into a soft pile at the bottom. Crowfeather gently helped her to her paws.

He looked deep into her eyes and she could see such happiness there! They belonged together! And everything was right in the world.

Then there was a subtle shift and Crowfeather's features blurred and melted. She wanted to look away but she could only stare, fascinated at the swirling mix of colors.

Then the face stopped tumbling and hardened into a cat's head. She squinted at the roughly made head and then suddenly the features began clearing up. She felt a deep love in her heart and a deep longing and suddenly the face she loved so much was polished into... Longclaw!

**That last bit was a dream. Just in case you couldn't tell. Hope you liked it! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

**Well, here we are. Will Leafpool pick Crowfeather or Longclaw? What will happen to Squirrelflight in the darkness of the Tribes' caverns? Read on to find out!**

Squirrelflight took a deep breath upon entering the blackness, as if there would be no air in the dark. She was nervous now that she'd agreed to be read. Who knew what that even meant?! And to frighten her further the instant she entered that darkness she knew that it was absolute. Not a single crack appeared to let in a beam of sunlight. She could hear Herbsight ahead of her and was forced to follow the medicine cat's even, unhurried steps, though she felt more like running full speed until the darkness ended.

The tunnel they were in appeared to be heading downhill. The air grew damper and a chill breeze flattened her whiskers. It made no difference whether her eyes were opened or closed; all was complete blackness. She could see why the medicine cat was the guide; Herbsight was used to the darkness, it did not frighten her as it did cats who could normally see at all times.

Squirrelflight had to struggle to keep from turning back and running to the sunlight that was slowly fading behind them. She kept imagining dark creatures lurking in the dark beside her and her fur stood on end, despite her attempts to stay unruffled.

They walked onward for endless heartbeats and Squirrelflight wanted to ask when they would stop, but when she finally opened her mouth to speak a glow appeared before them.

It was a faint glow; blue and pulsing, far off down the tunnel. But it was enough to shut Squirrelflight's mouth and keep her paws moving. Each step echoed eerily now; the tunnel must have been bigger than she'd originally thought.

Herbsight began to appear before her. At first it looked like the medicine cat was only a faint blue ghost, floating before her. But slowly her form solidified into the glowing white cat she normally was. The blue glow was now so bright that it hurt Squirrelflight's unadjusted eyes, but Herbsight didn't even pause.

The light kept glowing brighter and brighter until Squirrelflight had to close her eyes. But even with her eyes closed the light was bright; her eyelids glowed so red that she was seeing with her eyes shut!

And then Herbsight's footsteps stopped and the light suddenly dimmed. Squirrelflight opened her eyes and found that a cave of pure white rock now enclosed them. Herbsight was nearly invisible against the milky marble; only her open blue eyes gave away her position.

Herbsight turned to face away from Squirrelflight, "We are here."

Squirrelflight turned to face the same way and her mouth dropped open in shock.

POV

Crowfeather woke to the sound of grating metal. What was going on?! He jumped to his feet in time to see Sonya's cage swing off the shelf, leaving a bare metal space where she had once been!

He could hear her whimpering, "Crowfeather!" she shouted, "Crowfeather, help!"

But he could do nothing. He could hear the two-legs talking now, though he could not understand their rough language, "Easy Sonya, easy. You'll be okay. Okay, I'll lower her to the ground while you get the cat's cage."

Suddenly a pair of two-leg paws appeared at the front of his cage! Then he felt them scrabbling on top of his cage and before he knew it _he_ was swinging out into thin air!

He yowled at the top of his lungs, "I'm coming Sonya!"

Then his cage hit the floor with a bump, throwing him against the cage wall. What were the crazy two-legs doing now?

There was a moment's silence and then his cage was lifted up again. This time he was prepared; he didn't go sliding sideways as he was swung upwards.

The two-legs were talking again, "Alright, let's take them outside and then we'll go get the other two."

The cage began swinging wildly; he had the feeling that the two-legs were taking them somewhere. He heard something creak and then there was a blast of cold air! The scents on the air brushed all thoughts away. They were outside!

He could smell squirrel, and rabbit, and grass, and trees! Bright spring sunlight hurt his eyes, filtering into his cage! He purred and nearly jumped up and down! They were going to be freed! He could feel it!

Then suddenly he thought of Leafpool and his happy thoughts scattered. What about his mate? Was she being freed as well? What would he do if she wasn't? He was instantly plagued by a hundred worries. What _could_ he do if he was out in the forest all alone with only Sonya for company?

POV

Leafpool yawned and woke to the smell of her usual mouse. Then suddenly her dream slapped her across the face. What was going _on_ with her?!

She ran away with _Crowfeather_, not Longclaw! She didn't love Longclaw, right? He was just a good friend! A really good friend. An amazing, lovable friend.

Starclan help me, she prayed, I'm in love with two cats!

She had to think this over. Crowfeather. He was first. He was so beautiful, his dark sleek fur. He had the warmest green eyes, that special smile he only gave to her. His scent of moors and rabbits filled her with warmth. He was the one she'd left her clan for. He was the one who'd said he'd die without her, the one who'd stayed by her body when she was dying in the forest.

And then there was Longclaw. He was new, exciting. She'd never really seen him, just glimpses of dark chocolate fur and impressive claws. His voice was so deep and mellow; she'd know it in a heartbeat. She had the feeling that his smiles came easy and warm, unlike Crowfeather's smiles that came only for her. Longclaw could protect her from anything; he had a hidden strength in his voice that she knew she loved. But he had a mate. Or used to. Who knew what had happened to Tigerlily? Perhaps, she wasn't even alive anymore...

Leafpool mentally slapped herself. Now she was wishing death on cats she didn't even know?! Something was seriously wrong with her!

But she had no idea what cat she wanted! And she had the sinking feeling that this wasn't something Starclan could help her with. She'd been a medicine cat, she wasn't supposed to have a single cat to love her, let alone _two_!

She shook her head. She was such an idiot! She should never have left her clan; it was too confusing, dealing with love!

She sighed and stared out of her cage. And yet, it was so wonderful, being in love. She felt so warm and wanted when Crowfeather turned his eyes on her. And she knew that Longclaw could probably make her feel the same way.

Yes she had problems, but they weren't necessarily bad problems. Just confusing ones. And she knew she would pick the right cat when the time came. She just knew it.

Satisfied with her conclusion, she curled her feet under her fur and let sleep take back to peaceful dreams.

POV

Tom set Sonya's cage gently down on the grass. That wolf was getting heavier all the time!

He wiped his brow and turned to Lucille. To his surprise she was staring right at him. She blushed when he caught her gaze.

His thoughts instantly lit up. She liked him too! He knew it now, why hadn't he seen it before! But he knew he couldn't say anything. It would be too awkward...

He turned back to the cages instead, "Well, let's go get the other two out here!"

Lucille just nodded. They turned and walked back inside, Tom inwardly cursing himself for lacking the guts to tell Lucille how he felt.

POV

Squirrelflight couldn't believe that she had walked through the cavern without seeing any of this! The entire cavern was abuzz with activity, star-speckled cats doing what they had probably done in real life; sharing tongues, hunting star-speckled mice, playing together, and talking...

It was like an entire tribe living in one enormous cavern! The blue glow came from the cats themselves, but also from the beautiful blue crystals that were clustered on the ceiling of the cavern. The entire place gave off an aura of warmth and peace and happiness.

Herbsight turned back to Squirrelflight, "It's beautiful, isn't it? We called it the Field of Peace. All of our ancestors live in this room, and the caverns and tunnels beyond this. Our entire tribe looks forward to coming here when we die and living in death as we did in life, but without the pain and suffering."

Squirrelflight nodded, not knowing what to say to that. She'd never seen Starclan's hunting grounds, but she had a feeling that they were every bit as beautiful and peaceful as the cavern before her.

Herbsight broke the peaceful silence, "I wanted to show you this, but this isn't where you are to be read. We need to move on. Follow me."

They left the shelter and entered the home of the spirits. This time the light was no longer blinding and Squirrelflight could see each individual cat. There were elders and kits and warriors alike. The kits made her heart throb with pain. They were so tiny and innocent; their deaths would have hurt the entire clan. Three particular kits stood out to Squirrelflight, especially since they began following her and Herbsight to the edge of the cavern.

Somehow sensing the kits' presence, Herbsight turned, her expression one of great pain and sadness. "It's okay, my siblings. She's with me."

The kits looked at them a moment more, so cute and yet so solemn, and nodded. Then they turned and ran back into the crowd of starry clanmates.

Herbsight had continued walking without Squirrelflight. Squirrelflight ran to catch up, "Those are your siblings? Do you ever come down here just to visit them?"

Herbsight stopped without warning and glared sharply at Squirrelflight, "This is a resting place for my ancestors! I would not be so insolent as to disturb their peace with my earthly wants! I will speak with my siblings when I am dead!"

Squirrelflight cowered beneath the medicine cat's gaze, sorry she'd brought up the touchy subject. Herbsight turned back to her invisible path and continued walking. None of the other star-speckled cats reacted when they walked by; it was as if they couldn't see the living that were among them.

Eventually they reached a new tunnel, as black as the one they'd taken to get to the Cavern of Ancestors. Herbsight turned down it and Squirrelflight wearily descended back into darkness.

POV

Leafpool awoke suddenly. Her cage was moving! She yowled in fright as she was swung roughly off the shelf and hoisted into mid-air!

She could hear the two-legs talking incoherently, "Shhhh! It's okay, it's okay girl. We won't hurt you!"

It did nothing to sooth her. She stopped yowling, but her fur remained on end. What were the two-legs up to now?

She heard another rasp of metal on metal and had the feeling that it was Longclaw's cage being pulled from the shelf. Sure enough, she heard his characteristic hiss, "Let go of me, idiot two-legs!"

They didn't oblige. Instead, Leafpool's cage continued swinging and she could hear Longclaw still complaining behind her.

There was a faint creak and then sunlight was blinding Leafpool. Sunlight! She could have danced with joy! They were outside! She could smell trees and grass and squirrels and... Crowfeather? Crowfeather!

He was outside too! And there was another smell... dog? What was a dog doing outside with them?

She shook her head. It didn't matter! They were outside! They were going to be free! And then she remembered her love dilemma and a bit of the happiness fled. She hadn't expected to have to pick so quickly!

And how would Crowfeather react, seeing his mate released with a foreign tom? She winced at the thought. Crowfeather was not known for his... understanding. She could just picture Crowfeather's snarl. What would she do if the two loves of her life starting fighting with each other? What if one killed the other?! Leafpool winced even harder. The pain of losing either of them would drive her crazy!

She suddenly dreaded her release from her cage. She had her two loves beside her, but she had the feeling that the release was not going to be pleasant.

As a two-leg hand reached down to unlatch her cage and let her go Leafpool cowered, her heart already bleeding for the storm that was coming.

**Okay, I didn't really answer any of the questions I posed at the start of this chapter. I guess you'll just have to wait until next time! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

**I'm trying to be prompt with the updates, but that doesn't mean you can wait to review until the next chapter! I'm trying to decide whether to end the story happily, or sadly. Vote in your reviews, please!**

Squirrelflight's paws felt numb. They'd been heading down the tunnel from the Cavern of Ancestors for what seemed like moons. She was having trouble hearing Herbsight's paw steps over her own breathing now and she kept stumbling over tiny pebbles on the floor, which seemed to be getting rougher with every step.

She was so tired that when the light first appeared she didn't notice. It wasn't until Herbsight began glowing before her that she looked ahead and really saw.

The glow wasn't blue this time. Instead it was pure white. Images of the color swirled in her mind: her first snow fall as a kit, the milky tendrils of Cloudtail's long fur, the crests of the waves that crashed in the lake when the wind picked up. They were good memories and it was a good color. It brought to her mind thoughts of peace, serenity, purity, and forgiveness.

As they approached the glow grew brighter, just as it had before. But this time the glow did not become bright enough to make her blind. Instead it was if she was walking towards a field covered in snow light by an afternoon's sunlight.

Herbsight halted at the edge of the brightest glow. Though the light was not blinding it was bright enough that Squirrelflight couldn't exactly make out what was inside the new cavern.

Herbsight spoke now, her tones soft with reverence, "This is the Cavern of Light. When I asked if you wished to be read, I did not mean that I would actually do the reading. From here, you travel alone."

Herbsight rose and turned to go. Squirrelflight rose too, slightly panicked, "But I'll get lost! I'll never find my way out! You have to stay with me!"

Herbsight turned back and smiled kindly, the way queen's did to their naive little kits, "Do not be afraid. The Cavern of Light will allow no darkness."

Squirrelflight paused for a moment, puzzled. The moment was all Herbsight needed to fade back into the darkness of the tunnel. Squirrelflight knew she wouldn't be able to hear Herbsight's soft footsteps if she tried to catch up. She was stuck on the edge of light and darkness. And which side frightened her more she didn't know.

POV

Leafpool tumbled onto the fresh Green Leaf grass, and in spite of herself the feel of it made happiness well up in her chest.

It was so good to feel the grass on her fur, so good to have the wind brush back her whiskers, so good to see the sun shining down from above! On an impulse she dropped down and rolled. All the itchiness and dampness that had built up on her coat in her cramped cage was rubbed into the grass. She blinked up at the sky and smiled. It was good to be free.

POV

Lucille laughed out loud as the female cat rolled on her back in the grass and then lay staring up at the sun with a look of utmost happiness on her feline face. Tom couldn't help but laugh along with her; who could resist such a musical, beautiful laugh?

To his surprise Lucille reached up and pulled out her formal bun to let her hair flow down her back in a river of gold. She was so beautiful. Even more so with her hair free and natural, her eyes sparkling as she laughed in the summer sun.

She must have caught his stare, for she slowly stopped laughing and blushed, looking at him and then away.

God, he was such an idiot! Ruining such a perfect moment! But he knew how to make it right, "Lucille?" His voice trembled in his throat and he mentally shook his head at himself.

Lucille turned back to him, her blush still tingeing her summer tan pink, "Yes, Tom?"

He stuttered a little, but he had to go through with it now that he'd finally got up the courage to start, "I was wondering if you wouldn't like to... Come over sometime. And not... not just to take care of the animals. We could... watch a movie or something..."

He trailed off and glanced back at her. She was half-smiling, looking a little nervous. He hurriedly plunged onward, "Unless you wouldn't like that! I mean, I would like that, but maybe if you don't like movies or something I could make dinner... Er, actually I'm a lousy cook. I could take you out to dinner though! But only if you, you know, want to..."

He looked pleadingly up at her. For a moment she was quiet and the suspense nearly killed him. Then she broke into a smile, "I would like that Tom. I would like that a lot."

He grinned back, not realizing how love struck he looked at the moment, "All right! I mean, uh... Wait. Which did you say you liked?"

She smiled even bigger, "All of them. On different dates of course."

So he took her hand and together they freed the last three prisoners and then went back inside to plan and plot together in the warmth of a lovely summer afternoon.

POV

Crowfeather could pick up Leafpool's scent from a mile away and he knew instantly that she was in the cage beside his.

His heart beat fast in his chest and suddenly he was nervous. What if she'd fallen out of love? What if she was still too injured to survive in the forest?

He heard her cage pop open and the sound of her rolling in the grass was the sweetest thing he'd heard in a very long time. Her scent came rolling towards him, a wave of intoxicating perfume tinged with a hint of fresh cut grass.

And when the two-leg hands appeared and he knew he'd be free and beside her he felt like nothing in the world could ruin his happiness. Except the scent of male cat that he suddenly caught on a wayward breeze. What was going on?

But the scent faded again as Leafpool's filled the air and he quickly forgot his qualms as he slid from his prison into Leafpool's embrace.

POV

Longclaw had been worried when the cages started moving, though he let his anger hide it. There was no use in letting his feelings worry Leafpool further.

And when they'd hit the open air he'd been so filled with joy that he instantly forgot his worries. And then remembered them the instant his cage hit the ground, when the scent of male cat filled his nostrils, blocking out even Leafpool's sweet perfume.

What was an intruder doing here? No matter. He'd claw the filthy invader into pieces before he'd let him get anywhere near his newfound love!

He could tell that he was downwind from the other male and that gave him an advantage. He could spring the instant he left his cage and pin the intruder before he'd had a chance to move!

He smiled smugly at his plan and carefully sharpened his long, arching claws on the metal of his cage, preparing for the battle ahead.

POV

When Crowfeather had come tearing out of his cage Leafpool had been momentarily stunned and for a second she thought her eyes were deceiving her or that Longclaw looked as well as smelled almost exactly like Crowfeather.

But no, it was her first love. The one she'd left Thunderclan for. The one who'd guarded her until the kind two-leg could rescue her.

She purred as warmly and loudly as she could, rubbing up against him, wrapping her tail around his. He did the same and she realized she'd forgotten how loud his rumbling purr was, how black his fur, how warm and loving his gaze.

It felt like a piece of her heart that she'd forgotten she was missing had clicked back into place. She hadn't realized her heart was hurting until now, when the hurting stopped. He was her antidote, her rock, her passion, and her love. He was Crowfeather.

And for that single moment, when they stood side by side, a single entity in love, everything was absolutely, amazingly perfect.

**I'm** **really sorry, but this chapter is going to stay this short. It's too perfect the way it is. I don't want to tell you too quickly what happens to Squirrelflight or to my love triangle (Or maybe love rectangle. I'm not sure if Sonya and Crowfeather are in love or not. Is inter-species love even allowed?!). So I'm ending here. And I'll have to force myself not to update for at least a couple days. Just to annoy you of course. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

**All right, I'll have pity on you; I do have a heart! So here it is, the moment you have all been oh-so-patiently waiting for:**

Squirrelflight could feel her fur chilling as the last tiny echoes of Herbsight's pawsteps faded into silence. Absolute silence. Her breath and her heartbeat were the only things she could hear.

She wanted to run for her life. But in which direction? Cautiously she crept to the light and stuck her head in. She could see nothing, only the white, pureness of the glow.

She growled softly to herself. She would starve to death down here; unsure of whether she should retrace her steps or go on.

She was just ready to curl up and wait for death in the cold gray of the borderline when something shifted in the edges of her vision.

Springing to her feet she felt her fur rise. What was down here with her? She stared warily at the wall before her, right where light and shadow met, the place where she'd seen the movement. For a moment nothing happened.

Then suddenly stars came spiraling down to earth, dazzling her as they danced and drifted on an unfelt wind. Slowly they fell and then kissed the earth without a sound. More of them fell and then even more. They began shifting and solidifying as she watched with rapt attention. Then before her stood two cats. One was cloaked in shadow and night, the other glowing with the cloak of a pure white, snowy day.

They both padded forward until they stood only a tail length from her. And yet somehow she was completely unafraid.

The stars twinkled again and suddenly the faces were those of two cats she had met in the clans. One was Hawkfrost. His blue eyes were as cold as they'd ever been and in his starry form she could see no resemblance between this evil cat and her love, Brambleclaw. And the other she had never seen alive. It was Spottedleaf, the she-cat who walked in dreams as easily as she'd walked through the old forest, before the two-legs had come with destruction and death.

Hawkfrost wore the cloak of night. Spottedleaf wore the cloak of day.

Hawkfrost stood in shadow. Spottedleaf stood in light.

Hawkfrost was the first to speak, "Squirrelflight. Faring well, I see. Spottedleaf and I have advice for you. I say that you take to the shadows. You know that the tunnel does not curve. You could easily find your way back to the Tribe... and to my brother, your mate." Hawkfrosts' eyes glittered coldly and Squirrelflight shuddered.

Spottedleaf caught her gaze and smiled before she spoke, "Squirrelflight. You know I am a bearer of good tidings. I have guided Thunderclan both while living and while dead. Your father trusted me to the utmost; your sister relied on me to help her interpret Starclan's visions. I advocate the light. There is nothing either of us can tell you that you don't already know. But you trusted Herbsight to lead you here. Why hesitate on the brink of the destination she intended you to arrive at?"

Hawkfrost hissed, sensing Squirrelflight's lean towards the light, "Don't listen to that liar! She hates your mother for stealing Firestar from her and she will lead you to your death so that she can cherish Sandstorm's tears as they hit the sand of Thunderclan's camp!"

Spottedleaf narrowed her eyes at him and hissed as well, "I am the liar, am I? What does that make you, Hawkfrost? Who nearly convinced your brother to help you gain control of the lake so that you could later turn around and kill him and rule it all yourself? I would never enjoy another cat's pain! I hold nothing against Sandstorm!"

Squirrelflight stared on in horror and shock as the two cats fought like Lionclan through their words. Neither of the two moved so much as an inch, but their hatred for each other seemed to cast a reddish glow in the pure white light.

At last they fell silent. Spottedleaf turned to Squirrelflight, "The decision is yours, Squirrelflight."

Then, as suddenly as they had come, the two cats dissolved into a hundred thousand pinpricks of light and disappeared entirely.

Squirrelflight had only to think for a moment. While Hawkfrost had obviously hit a nerve using Sandstorm's name, she was still inclined to take Spottedleaf's word over Hawkfrost's. She nodded once, sharply, and turned to face the light.

POV

Longclaw felt two-leg hands fumbling around on the outside of his cage. There was a faint click and the cage door swung open. He could hear the two-legs' footsteps fade. He bunched his muscles, carefully planning his spring with sight and smell.

Then crouched down further and flew out of his cage. He landed silently on the grass and used his leftover momentum to send himself flying even faster at his target, a large black cat who was cuddling up to Leafpool.

His eyes blurred red with rage and he yowled as loud and as terrifyingly as he could as he sped towards the imminent impact.

POV

Sonya tumbled out onto the grass and couldn't help the whine that escaped her lips at her first brush with the fresh Green Leaf grass. She rolled thoroughly in the dirt, enjoying the wildness, the non-two-legness of it.

She could hear and smell Crowfeather nearby, as well as a sweet, female cat scent. This must be his mate, Leafpool!

She shook her head and quickly sat up, oblivious of the missile now aimed at her head, eager to meet Crowfeather's mysterious love.

POV

He hadn't seen the dog before he sprung. It had been lying on the grass, completely out of the way. Now it sat up abruptly and he was on a collision course with its head.

He couldn't turn in mid-air, at least not at this kind of speed. His target was completely obscured by thick, light brown fur. He braced himself for impact.

POV

Sonya had just turned her head to introduce herself when Longclaw smacked violently into the side of her skull. Pain flooded in. She could feel gruesomely sharp claws digging into her skin, and she was knocked sideways by the force of the unexpected blow.

As she collapsed into the grass she felt the pressure release and she shut her eyes in gratitude. Black dots gathered before her and before she knew it she was asleep in the warmth of a Green Leaf afternoon.

POV

Crowfeather'd heard the unearthly yowl and both he and Leafpool turned to see the sudden bullet aiming straight at Crowfeather's head.

Then Sonya sat up and the world shook.

The missile scarcely paused after the collision. It withdrew its claws from Sonya's now motionless body and flung itself at Crowfeather, who hadn't moved in inch, shocked into stillness as he was.

When the thing hit his face he moved. He moved to kill.

POV

Leafpool gasped in horror as the dark streak flew at Crowfeather. She was unable to move, to breath.

Then the dog, which she hadn't noticed before, sat up and the missile collided with it instead. But she hadn't expected so quick a recovery from the attacker.

In a fluid instant it'd withdrawn its claws and flung itself at Crowfeather, her only recently re-introduced love.

She backed away from the two fighting males instinctively as the attacker hit Crowfeather's face. She felt like she couldn't breath, like the world had stopped turning and all oxygen was bleeding out beyond star pelt.

Then she took a deep breath and watched. She knew she couldn't break them apart. And now that she'd calmed down (as much as was possible in this horrifying situation) she knew that the bullet was Longclaw. The two scents were indistinguishable when they were at such close quarters with each other; that was how she knew. Any other invader she would have scented immediately. But not Longclaw, who blended in so perfectly with Crowfeather.

She felt like she should turn away. But it was impossible to avert her gaze. She was fascinated by the fluidity of the fighters' movements. They flowed together smoothly in an intricate dance of death.

It was clear that her two loves were equally matched. That suddenly struck her as funny. She'd picked two cats to love, each a universe apart, and they were so similar that it was hard to tell them apart.

She was seeing Longclaw for the first time, in the whirling dervish of claws and teeth. His fur was a dark chocolate brown, perhaps two shades lighter than Crowfeather's ebony pelt. His eyes were warm amber, though when she saw them first they'd gone cold with envy and anger. He was roughly the same size as Crowfeather, though perhaps a bit more muscular. And Crowfeather was only a second faster than Longclaw.

The fight seemed incredibly surreal. She felt as if she was watching from a great distance, vaguely unconcerned about the path the battle took. It was as if a thin veil had lowered between her thoughts and her emotions. She felt oddly cut off. The intense love, the burning agony, the engulfing horror she'd felt when she had first seen Longclaw flying at Crowfeather had drained away.

She felt like she should care. That she should try to break them up, to do something. But her emotions remained unattached, floating somewhere in a deep corner of her mind.

It was only when she saw the dog that she snapped back to life. It felt like she was waking from a dream, seeing the blood welling up from the unconscious dog's form. Pity slipped through a crack in the veil. And after it came the flood of emotions.

She could do something now. She could do what she'd been born to do. She could heal.

Side-stepping the hissing circle of battlers, she hurried to the dog's side. The injury was not particularly bad, it was just that the dog had lost a lot of blood quickly and fainted at the lack of it.

She spotted cobwebs on a nearby bush and soon she'd bound the wound tightly. The blood flow stopped (head wounds always bled the most) and soon the poor dog was coming to.

It sat up slowly and shook its head, eyes a little bit glazed over. It opened its mouth, paused, and then spoke, "Wha- What happened?"

Leafpool's' eyes widened in surprise. A _dog_ that spoke cat? What was the world coming to?!

But it would be rude not to answer, "You sat up just as Longclaw jumped at Crowfeather and Longclaw hit you in the head and stuck his claws in you then pulled them out and attacked Crowfeather and you passed out from blood loss and now Crowfeather and Longclaw are fighting over there."

She waved her tail at the two males, who were currently circling each other warily, both panting.

The dog shook its head, "Males. My name is Sonya. And you wouldn't happen to be Leafpool, would you?"

Leafpool blinked slowly in surprise, "Yes, it is. I'm Leafpool. But how did you know my name? And how did you speak Cat, when you're a dog?"

Sonya smiled in an odd, doggish way. "Crowfeather spoke of you often. He's really in love with you, you know. And I am not a Barker! Crowfeather said you call them dogs, those things that look like me with floppy ears and two-leg keepers. I am a wolf. I lived in the wild, free of all two-leg influence, until one of those awful metal traps caught my leg. Tom rescued me as he did you. I met Crowfeather because he was in the cage beside mine. And now that I am free I'm going to find my pack and return to my life."

Leafpool blinked again, "A wolf? I've never met one of your kind before. You don't eat cats, do you?"

Sonya laughed, "I'm surprised that Crowfeather never asked me that! I have before. But I don't think I will again. Not now that I know you speak our language."

Leafpool laughed too, "I'm surprised that Crowfeather made friends with you; he's not the friendliest cat around."

Sonya nodded her assent; "He certainly wasn't extending an overture of friendship at first. But he came around. After all, there was no one else to talk to in there!"

Leafpool smiled. She liked this wolf. Then her expression faded to concern, "We'd better break those to up. I couldn't stand it if one of them was hurt over me!"

Leafpool could have sworn that a flash of envy crossed Sonya's face. Then Sonya grinned, "Leave this to me."

Sonya strode forward until she was only a tail length from the fighters. She watched them intently. Then, just as they separated to charge again, Sonya darted between them.

They both crashed into her with a loud thud and then fell back, momentarily stunned. Leafpool took the moment to slip in as well, "Crowfeather. Longclaw. This is absolutely ridiculous! There is no reason you should fight over me! Especially you, Longclaw! You don't even know if Tigerlily is dead! What if she's alive? What would she say?"

Both males scuffed the ground sheepishly. Crowfeather looked up cautiously, "Well he started it!"

Longclaw hissed, "I started it? You started it! Allowing yourself to be separated from this beautiful cat and letting her suffer, not knowing what happened to you!"

Crowfeather's expression was stricken. It was as if Longclaw had stabbed him through the heart.

It was Leafpool's turn to hiss, "Longclaw it wasn't his fault! The two-legs separated us; neither of us chose that to happen!"

But Crowfeather was staring at the ground, muttering dejectedly, "No, he's right. I should have fought harder. I should have found a way to stay with you."

Leafpool cursed, anger welling up inside her, "Mouse dung! I love you Crowfeather! I left my clan for you! I never once doubted your love for me!"

Crowfeather looked up now, eyes glowing with hope, "Really?"

Leafpool purred, "Of course Crowfeather! You're such a mouse brain sometimes!"

Now it was Longclaw's turn to stare dejectedly at the ground, "You never really loved me, did you? I was always just a replacement, wasn't I?"

Leafpool turned, her eyes full of hurt and confusion, "Of course not! I... I loved you too. In a different way. You made me smile when I was in pain! You were my sun, my happiness!"

Longclaw's shoulders slumped, "But you don't love me as a mate, do you?"

Leafpool had nothing to say to that. Longclaw turned. He glanced back once, eyes full of hope.

Leafpool just stared. Longclaw's hope turned to pain. He sprinted into the woods, not caring which direction he went.

Leafpool cursed again, "Mouse dung!" And sprinted after him.

Crowfeather cursed as well, "Fox dung!" He went to follow them. But Sonya blocked his path.

"Wait. This is for them to settle. Besides, I think I can smell my pack!"

POV

Squirrelflight stepped into the light without hesitation now. It was worthless to worry, to fear. There was only one way out.

The light was surprisingly warm, and welcoming. She felt like she was wrapped in love.

Her eyes didn't hurt, but she still couldn't make out anything. She could barely see her own paws.

Suddenly, a few steps into the glow, she could hear running water. At least, that's what she thought it was. It also sounded like that laughter of kits. Like the chirping of birds. Like the purr of her mate. Like rain on her den while she slept safely inside.

She was drawn towards the sound, her paws finding a path through the glow. The noise grew louder, stronger, like a pounding heartbeat.

Suddenly she could see again. She stood on the edge of a cliff, so high up that she could scarcely see the ground below. The river (for the noise was running water after all) pounded the rocks only tail lengths from her, cascading over the cliff, casting rainbows everywhere.

The rock she stood on now was a pure, milky white and crystals were growing everywhere on it, casting the soft white glow. Even the water appeared white, the mist coming off it coating her fur until when she glanced down her fur was white as well! What was this odd place?

She could smell prey, but somehow she wasn't hungry. And she wasn't at all surprised when another starry cat appeared. She didn't recognize this one, a muscular tabby male.

He smiled though, and she wasn't afraid. When he spoke his voice was warm and full of laughter, "Welcome to the Light, Squirrelflight."

She didn't know what to say, but he didn't seem to need an answer, "Follow me."

There was nothing to do but obey. The cat walked towards the river until he stood in the rushing waters, right on the edge of the cliff.

She stepped in hesitantly, but the water was warm and soothing on her cold, worn out paws. The cat turned to look at her, "Do you trust me?"

She paused. Then nodded. The cat smiled, "Good." And he stepped over the edge of the cliff.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Squirrelflight darted to the edge of the cliff and searched the mist of the waterfall for the body of the cat who had just stepped into the void.

There was nothing. She couldn't see the bottom of the falls and the roar of falling water obscured any sounds the sinking cat might have made.

She sighed. What was she supposed to do now? She glanced upwards for inspiration and nearly jumped out of her skin! The cat was standing on thin air, ten tail-lengths over her head!

The tabby smiled, "Come on! We haven't got all day!"

He wanted her to join him? But how? She couldn't jump that high! She gazed at him hopelessly.

His tail twitched in impatience, "Just step over the edge of the cliff!"

This was madness! But what choice did she have? She couldn't see anything beyond the river and the falls.

Gulping nervously, she inched forward. And then, at the last second, she jumped into the air over the falls.

She expected to plummet and her mouth was open, ready to yowl as she fell. But instead a cloud of hot, steamy air surrounded her. She was standing perfectly still in the way she would have landed on the ground after a jump. But instead she was standing that way on air! And then she realized she was rising!

The hot air rolled around her and pushed her upwards until she was level with the tabby. Then the hot air fell away and she was standing on nothing.

The tabby smiled as if to comfort her, "It's fine! The first time is the worst; after that it's fun! We're now on the Bridge of Souls. You can see it if you really look and you can walk anywhere over the river on it without falling!"

For some reason the tabby reminded her of a kit, despite his hard adult body. She shook her head; now was not the time to think about that!

Looking down she could see the long fall to the water below. But when she squinted she could see something else, just on the edge of her vision. It looked like crystal, nearly transparent, forming an arc that began ten tail-lengths over the falls. And if she looked even harder she thought she could see starry paw prints shifting over the crystal. The Bridge of Souls? She shuddered. Did those paw prints belong to cats' souls that were invisible to her, the living?

She finally took her gaze away from the bridge and realized that her tabby guide was twenty tail-lengths ahead of her! Hesitantly she took a step forward. She could feel something beneath her paws... it felt like she was walking on feathers, smooth, glassy feathers, but feathers all the same, light and airy and ready to blow away if she was not careful.

The tabby was sitting on the bridge, waiting for her, casually licking his paws. She took another hesitant step. And another. Gradually she got used to walking on the bridge, though when she glanced down she would freeze up and have to shake herself to start moving again.

The tabby just bounded on ahead of her without a care in the world. He batted at bits of cloud that drifted over the bridge (that's how high they were!) and pounced on the glowing paw prints like a kit stalking a beetle. She shook her head at his foolishness. Only a kit would behave so!

Finally the river began to thin out. The towering cliffs sank slowly into steep hills, then into rolling meadows, then into plains. All the time the bridge sank lower as the land flattened, until they were scarcely five tail-lengths above the water, where before they had been a hundred.

She didn't notice when the tabby halted, instead she ran into him, as she had run into Tigerlily in the caves. What was wrong with her today?

The tabby turned around, purring in amusement, but then he sobered up a little, "I leave you here. Follow the turn of the bridge."

And then he was sprinting back the way they had come. She didn't try to follow; the bridge frightened her.

She squinted at the bridge to get her bearings and realized that it curved into a ramp a few tail-lengths ahead, gracefully flowing down to the bank of the river, which had now become a stream in width.

She was glad when her paws tumbled onto smooth, milky white ground. Even if everything was oddly devoid of color here solid ground was solid ground!

She turned back to look at the bridge one last time, squinting. But it was gone! She couldn't make it out at all, even when she stared her hardest.

She shivered. Maybe there hadn't been a bridge at all!

She was still trying to see the bridge when she heard pawsteps behind her. She whirled around to face whatever came and found herself looking into the eyes of a pretty white she-cat. Her eyes were a deep, captivating green, and her expression was so regal that Squirrelflight found herself wondering if she should bow.

The she-cat looked at her without speaking, clearly sizing her up. When she spoke her voice rang with authority, "You shall do."

Squirrelflight wasn't sure what that meant, but she was afraid to speak to this cold cat. The cat suddenly turned around, her tail straight up in the air, and began walking, clearly expecting Squirrelflight to follow.

Squirrelflight hurried to catch up and found the she-cat just beginning a speech, "I am Alexandria the third, Queen and Empress of The Glow. All cats in this realm obey my commands without question. If you choose to remain here you will also obey without question. Am I clear?"

Alexandria turned her head slightly, eying Squirrelflight coldly. Squirrelflight nodded frantically. This she-cat probably wouldn't hesitate to claw a cat's eye out if it didn't obey her. Something about her spoke of pain and darkness and compelled you to obey.

Alexandria smiled and turned back around, "The question is, are you staying or going?"

Squirrelflight shook her head in confusion; staying or going where? Alexandria did not explain further.

The white land slid by smoothly. There was no sense of time in The Glow; she could have been traveling with the tabby for days! But she felt exactly the same now as she had when she entered The Glow, a little footsore, but not really tired.

So she didn't know how long they'd been walking when they came to a sheer cliff face. The rock was as white as the others in this land and just as smooth. Alexandria walked up to it and touched her nose to the smooth stone.

Suddenly a deep rumble shook the cliff. To Squirrelflight's surprise the cliff came apart! The entire mountain shifted so that a wide avenue now ran between the pieces.

And there were cats! Cats living inside the cliff! None of them seemed surprised at the shift; they were all darting about doing things that Squirrelflight couldn't see. The odd thing was that they were all exact copies of Alexandria!

Every cat was the same white color, with the same length of hair and the same green eyes. Only they lacked the regality, the cold command in their gaze. They kept their heads and eyes down and smelled of fear.

Squirrelflight shivered. She didn't like it here.

She followed Alexandria down the avenue though. It was cold in between the rocks but busy with life. Tunnels were drilled into the rock on either side of the avenue and cats were constantly darting in and out of them.

But it was quiet. Deathly quiet. No cat talked to another, not even in a whisper. And every cat froze and bowed to Alexandria when she walked by. None of them gave Squirrelflight a second glance.

The avenue grew narrower as they went on and finally Squirrelflight's shoulders were scraping each side of the avenue's rock. Then Alexandria stopped. She touched her nose to the stone on the left and just as before the rock split in two, revealing a new avenue, wider than the other.

Alexandria darted down it and everything was just as before; the clone cats, the silence, the tunnels. Except that this avenue ended in a sunken bowl, at the center of which a spring bubbled up milky white water.

Alexandria walked around the spring and up a trail carved in the rock's side. They climbed higher and higher, until finally they were just below the top of the cliff. Then the trail ended in an enormous cave.

Alexandria went inside and Squirrelflight followed. She was astounded at what she saw. Everywhere there were gems and nuggets of gold, lying in piles and mounds. The floor was thickly carpeted in the skins of rabbits and other animals of prey and the walls were decorated with paw prints in many colors.

The cave was circular and all as richly decorated as the hall into the chamber. In the center of the circle there was a mound of the fattest, most delicious looking fresh-kill Squirrelflight had ever seen. And off to one side there was a deep indent in the floor. It was filled with cushions of rabbit skins stuffed with moss and was clearly Alexandria's nest.

Alexandria was smiling at her amazement. But it didn't soften the cold, calculating look of her eyes. "Gorgeous, isn't it? Amazing what cats will bring you with the right motivation."

Squirrelflight shivered again. Alexandria gestured to the fresh-kill pile, "Let us share a meal, Squirrelflight."

How did she know her name? But Alexandria was eying her like she dared her to refuse.

They settled by the pile and Alexandria pushed an enormous rabbit at her, "Make sure you finish it. I _hate_ to waste food."

Squirrelflight gulped. The thing was almost as big as her! But she ate obediently at the threat in the she-cats eyes. How had she ended up here? By the time she'd finished the rabbit she was ready to throw up, she was so stuffed. It had been delicious though.

Alexandria smiled again, "Are you sure you wouldn't like more?"

Squirrelflight couldn't hide the fear in her eyes; she couldn't eat more if she wanted to! "No, I'm fine, just fine."

Alexandria nodded, "Good. Now why don't we curl up for a nice rest, hmmm?"

She gestured to the nest. Squirrelflight blanched, "Oh no, I couldn't take your nest!"

Alexandria's face soured, "We can share. Come, I know you're tired after the long day!"

Suddenly Squirrelflight could barely keep her eyes open. That's odd, she thought. I bet I've been here a week and I haven't been tired once! But now that Alexandria brought up sleep she could scarcely stop yawning!

She was so exhausted that Alexandria had to help her into the nest, which was every bit as warm and comfortable as it looked. The last thing she saw before sleep consumed her was Alexandria's face, grinning at her like she'd caught a particularly juicy bit of fresh kill.

POV

Alexandria purred in contentment. That fool Herbsight thought that The Glow purged all evil, but she had long ago found a way around that. Now the old cat sent her new servant, to mine for her those lovely gems and catch for her the finest prey anywhere.

She'd let that foolish tabby go free only because he was too simple to see evil when it bit him on the nose. He made the perfect guide, luring every cat that entered The Glow into her chambers.

It was almost too easy. All she had to do was pull a rabbit stuffed with sleeping herbs from her fresh kill pile and force the cat that entered to eat the entire thing.

The herbs in the rabbit were so strong that they mutated cats' appearances, making them look exactly like her while they slept. When they woke they had no memory of the outside. She told them that they'd had a nasty fall and had been asleep for three days. She was their mother, she explained, and they had better be good little children and do whatever she said!

She'd had stubborn ones, of course, cats who somehow fought the herbs and remembered bits and pieces of another life. But she punished them until they broke and went about as meekly as all her other servants.

Alexandria walked to the entrance of her cave and smiled widely. All was silent except for the paw steps of her miners and hunters, darting through tunnels to do her bidding. They would kill themselves if she told them to. It would be better dead than being punished by her for disobeying, they were sure.

All the servants slept together in a cavern smaller than hers and far less pleasant. That cavern dripped cave water and was full of drafts. Their fresh kill was scrawny and far less numerous. Occasionally she went down there while they slept and woke a few of the troublemakers. She would have them eat the entire fresh-kill pile so that they moaned in agony and then she wouldn't let them eat for a week because they'd had their food. And the rest of the servants would force the troublemakers to sleep underneath the leaks or next to the drafts because they all had to go short rations for three days while the fresh-kill pile was rebuilt.

It was perfect. All the servants distrusted all the other servants and none had time to plot against her.

Alexandria went over to her nest and glared down at the she-cat sleeping in it. Her fur was already turning white. In four days she'd be sleeping with the rest of the servants, serving Alexandria for the rest of her life.

Alexandria chuckled coldly to herself. Sleep well, Squirrelflight, sleep well. For after you awake you will never be so comfortable again.

POV

Brambleclaw paced the camp nervously. Three days ago Tigerlily had come back from the medicine cat den to say the Squirrelflight had gone to be read and wouldn't be back for a while.

She wouldn't explain any further than that and none of the other Tribe cats would either. They just said she'd come back when she was done.

He slashed angrily at a fern. Why wasn't she back yet? He was worried and none of the tribe cats would let him try and follow her!

He stalked back into his den, wishing he could be with her, wherever she was.

POV

Leafpool chased after Longclaw, ignoring the branches and ferns that whipped against her. Stupid, mouse-brained, nuisance of a tom! She wanted to tackle him! But she also wanted to apologize. Only now was it clear to her that Longclaw had never been a future mate to her. He was just a really amazing friend.

His scent trail suddenly turned to the right and she swung around to follow. No way could he outrun her!

POV

Crowfeather eyed Sonya cautiously, "Are you sure it's your pack? I mean, I don't want to surprise a bunch of wolves who don't know you!"

Sonya nodded. She was practically bouncing up and down! "I know it's them! I can smell Blackpelt! And Palefur!"

She winced at the way her voice rose in pitch when she said Palefur's name. He could have moved on by now! He could already have a for-life-mate. She nearly whimpered at the thought of that. But she had to be prepared.

Crowfeather nodded slowly, "All right, we'll follow the trail. But we have to be careful and stay downwind. They might not recognize your scent before they attack."

Sonya grinned at him, "Crowfeather, I can't wait!"

Crowfeather smiled back, but she thought she could see sadness and pain in his eyes for the second before he spoke, "I'm glad you'll be back with your family Sonya."

Then Sonya darted ahead, following the trail to her home.

**Well, how was that? I didn't edit it all that much, so I hope it's good! Please Review!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Squirrelflight twisted in her sleep so violently that she woke. Except she woke to find herself in Starclan's hunting grounds.

What was she doing here? Her memory seemed a little fuzzy; had she really been here before? Where had that name come from, Starclan's hunting grounds?

Then a scent washed over her. A very familiar scent. Suddenly her memories jumped into focus. This was Starclan's home, and that was Spottedleaf! How could she have forgotten?

Sure enough, Spottedleaf padded into view. The she-cat's warm eyes were worried for some reason, "Squirrelflight, it's me, Spottedleaf. Do you remember me?"

Squirrelflight laughed, "Of course Spottedleaf! Why wouldn't I?"

Spottedleaf sighed with relief, but her eyes remained worried, "I was afraid I'd be too late. That she-cat poisoned you!"

Squirrelflight stopped to examine her memories. A white she-cat named Alexandria floated up. Something about eating a huge rabbit...

Squirrelflight met Spottedleaf's gaze still slightly confused, "She poisoned me?"

Spottedleaf sighed, "Look at your fur, Squirrelflight."

Squirrelflight looked down and gasped! Her fur was almost completely white! Only a few patches of pale brown showed through!

"That rabbit was full of enough sleeping herbs to down a badger in seconds! I think she meant to make you forget yourself and end up one of those awful servant's of hers."

Squirrelflight shuddered, "How did you stop that from happening? Or can you stop it?"

Spottedleaf actually smiled, "Starclan has ways that no cat can know until she comes to join us. Your fur I cannot change, though it will not turn completely white now. But your memories will remain intact and your eyes will not change color."

"Thank you so much Spottedleaf! That would have been..." Squirrelflight couldn't finish that sentence.

"You're welcome, Squirrelflight. I couldn't let anything happen to Firestar's kit!"

Squirrelflight stared at her. What was that about her father?

Suddenly Starclan was fading from view. She could have sworn Spottedleaf was blushing. Then she fell back into her own body and woke to face a new reality.

POV

Firestar clawed the sand beneath his paws, staring at the nursery. He half wished he could see through the thorny walls. Sandstorm and Brightheart had entered it what felt like moons ago.

Then suddenly Brightheart's face appeared in the opening. And she was grinning. He leapt forward, but Brightheart didn't move out of his way.

"Slow down Firestar," she purred, "You don't want to wake Sandstorm!"

"She's asleep?" he mewed back.

Brightheart rolled her eyes, "Who wouldn't want to sleep after giving birth to three healthy kits?"

"Three?!"

Brightheart nodded, and began purring again, "Yes. There were no complications, thankfully, and you're now the father of two girls and a boy!"

"Did Sandstorm name any of them?"

"No, she wanted you to chose together. Now go in there before you fall over from shock!" Brightheart padded off to the medicine den, but Firestar didn't wait to watch her go.

He ducked in quickly, the thorns brushing his back, then hesitated, suddenly nervous, before entering completely.

Sandstorm was lying on her side, her breathing even and deep. She was purring in her sleep.

He licked her forehead gently, then turned to examine his new kits. He immediately spotted the boy, a tabby as bright an orange as himself. And twice as big as the other two.

The girls had the sleek look of their mother even with their fluff and milk fat. One was the same shade of pale orange as Sandstorm but with stripes as bright as his fur. And the other was... a tortoiseshell! He stared at the kit in shock. She reminded him of Spottedleaf, the mottled black and orange... He was sure this kit would have the same knowing green eyes. How could he and Sandstorm, both orange tabbies, produce a tortoiseshell kit?

Suddenly Sandstorm stirred. Her face spoke of tiredness, but she was smiling. "Firestar. Aren't they beautiful?"

He couldn't help glancing at the tortoiseshell, but then he snapped his gaze back, "Of course. We knew they would be, what with their mother's good looks!"

She laughed, a wonderful tinkling laugh. "Oh Firestar. I knew you'd say that. But really, what are you thinking for names?"

He jumped a little, forcing his eyes to leave her face and look at the kits. "I think we should name the tom Sunkit. His fur glows like the sun."

Sandstorm purred her approval, "That sounds perfect. I was thinking of the she-kit who looks like me. And I think her name should be Stripedkit."

Firestar nodded, "That's a good name for a kit with such bold stripes."

They both looked at the tortoiseshell kit and Firestar knew that Sandstorm had also seen Spottedleaf in her.

Sandstorm spoke first, "I was thinking Patchkit, but that doesn't seem to fit her."

Firestar agreed, "How about... Splashkit?" He didn't tell Sandstorm he was thinking of the way the splotches on the kit's fur matched Spottedleaf's in looking like they'd jumped into a puddle of orange and black to make their fur look the way it did.

Sandstorm jerked her head up, startled out of thought. "Splashkit," she murmured, "That sounds just right Firestar."

Then she yawned and he was made aware of how long they'd been gazing down at their kits. They were beautiful. But Sandstorm needed her rest.

"I'll tell everyone to leave you alone so you can sleep."

Sandstorm's sleepy "Alright" faded into the even breathing she'd had when he came in. He went out into the clearing feeling light with the joy of new kits, but in the back of his mind Spottedleaf itched.

POV

Sonya peered down the hill, making sure no more than her head went above the ridge.

She could smell them, but they weren't... wait. There. A flash of subtle movement in the bushes! Then suddenly Palefur stood before her, noise raised to scent the wind.

His beauty pierced her heart and she couldn't help it; a gasp escaped her lips.

Instantly Palefur's head whipped around to face the hill. She knew he couldn't see her, but she still flinched.

He stared at the brush for a long moment, and then turned back to the bushes he'd come from. Why did he make her heart beat like that? Why did he have to make her lose her brain?

Crowfeather nudged her in the ribs and she almost yelped. She'd nearly forgotten he was there with her!

She lowered herself back down the ridge to talk. Crowfeather was glaring at her, "You almost gave us away!"

Sonya's tail and ears sagged a little. "I'm sorry Crowfeather. I just haven't seen him in so long!"

Crowfeather's features softened and again she glimpsed a flash of pain in his eyes. But Palefur shoved him out of her thoughts.

Crowfeather was speaking again, "All right. When Palefur comes back remember to show yourself at the top of the hill. Don't make a sound; just wait until he sees you. If he recognizes you run down to meet him. And when you're done meeting up, bring him to meet me, okay?"

Sonya nodded. They'd agreed on this plan before; it was the only way to be certain Crowfeather wouldn't be in danger.

"Alright, go back up there. I'll be waiting here. And Sonya..." he looked at her with an odd expression on his face, "Be careful. Please."

Sonya nodded again, "Of course Crowy! And don't worry; everything will go perfectly!"

Then Sonya was darting back up the hill and Crowfeather was staring after her, his heart heavy with unexpected pain. How had he become so attached?

POV

Leafpool was panting hard as she ran now, but she was very close to Longclaw. She could feel it!

She put on a last burst of speed and pounced, tackling Longclaw into a bush.

He struggled underneath her, hissing something unintelligible. Then he went limp. She slowly got off him and backed into the tiny clearing they'd entered.

Longclaw rose just as slowly, and when he turned to face her his eyes were still full of sadness and pain. He smiled in a bitter sort of way. "I fall in love with a cat whose not my mate. Then she tells me she doesn't love me the way I love her and then she chases me down like she does."

Leafpool blushed. But anger was her overwhelming feeling right now. "You listen to me Longclaw! I didn't say that I didn't love you! I _do_ love you! But like a friend. Like a littermate, like a partner in crime. We aren't meant to be mates; can't you see that? I have Crowfeather and you have Tigerlily. And don't argue with that; I won't believe she's dead until I see her burial mound."

Longclaw stared at his paws and didn't speak. Leafpool sighed and walked up to him. She nudged his chin up with her head, "Longclaw, there's no reason to be sad. Things aren't going the way you, and even I at one point, thought they were going to go. But that doesn't mean they aren't working out well. This way we can always be friends, and no one has to die."

Then Longclaw looked up. He looked at her as if he saw the most beautiful thing in the world, as if every inch of her were equally divine. His eyes were pools of love and they burned with a passion to set the world on fire. They drew her in, tugged at her soul, made her want so badly to love him that it hurt. She could scarcely keep herself from giving in and saying 'I love you too Longclaw. With my whole heart. As a mate,' and then bearing his kits as they lived here, in this gorgeous forest.

Crowfeather had never shown that much of himself to her. At least not when she could see. She'd seen some of that same passion in him when she had looked down from Starclan to see him guarding her in the trap, but never had he looked at her this way.

Longclaw's eyes promised eternal love, eternal passion, and eternal vigilance in keeping her alive and content. He would be her other half; loyal to a fault, so in love with her that he tripped over his tail to please her.

But Crowfeather promised that too, in a different way. In a way that said all that and also that he would die if she refused to return that love. He'd been broken by the loss of a past mate, then remade in the forges of her love. And there was no other cat in that equation as there was in Longclaw's through Tigerlily.

She held that liquid love of Longclaw's inside her for as long as she could stand. Drinking it in, letting it warm her heart. For she knew he would never show that love to her again when she opened her mouth.

She wanted to cry when she thought of severing the bond forming here between them. She wanted to run to the ends of the earth if it meant never having to make this choice. But instead she opened her mouth, took a deep, steadying breath, and spoke: "Longclaw. I can never love you that way."

And his yowl shook the world, shattering her heart into a million burning pieces.

**Tears. I cry for Longclaw. And for Leafpool. And for what would have existed between them, but could never be. I hope you all know that Leafpool would never agree to be with Longclaw; she absolutely refused when I suggested it to her. And everyone knows that the characters get the last say. Sigh.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Sonya couldn't help letting her ears perk up as she crept back to the top of the ridge and peered over. She couldn't wait! She just _knew_ that Palefur would recognize her!

The rustling sounded again and once more Palefur stood in the narrow clearing, nose to the air. But this time instead of ducking she slowly rose from the bushes, smiling down at him.

POV

Palefur could have sworn he smelled Sonya's scent on the wind... but that was madness. She was probably long dead. Still, he couldn't help but want to take a closer look. Of course, just when he decided to investigate Blackpelt had called him back to eat, and there was no excuse for disobeying the alpha.

So he scarfed down the freshly caught rabbit, ignoring the curious looks from the others, and returned to the clearing as quickly as he could. Now he lifted his nose to the air and scanned the ridge. No sign of life at first, but then...

She rose from the bushes like a silent specter, her beauty shining so brightly that he nearly shut his eyes. Her fur looked like the softest down, her eyes gleamed with life and with love as she settled her gaze on him. It was she, whose form had been burned into his memory since he'd been forced to leave her dying in a trap. He knew it was his Sonya, the one whose disappearance from his life had left him shattered and alone.

At first he didn't know how to react. He just froze, staring at her perfection, wondering if this was all a dream, if he would have to wake back to the pain of reality the next moment. But then his paws took over. They dashed to meet her, eager, driven by love, and perhaps a little by fear, fear that she was not really there, that she would disappear once again, just seconds before they met.

And once he strode towards her she came plunging recklessly down the slope to meet him. She'd been longing, hoping for this moment, this meeting, without really knowing what it was she wanted. Now she knew. She wanted him.

POV

Crowfeather watched as this... this... _Palefur_ drank Sonya in, watched as he dashed to meet her, watched as she dashed just as eagerly to meet him.

Odd, but he felt slightly sick. There was this queer pain in his chest, this burning, slashing pain that was at the same time all ice and stone. Then it hit him. This was how he'd felt when She died. He still couldn't bring himself to think her name, let alone say it.

So this was it then. The two lovers, for that was what they were, it was painfully obvious now, were reunited. No room for him... better not linger where he wasn't wanted.

He couldn't have taken his eyes off them when they dashed to meet each other but now that they were together the pain, the bitterness, was too much. It was easy to turn away now.

He rose, silently, and crept away until he was sure they couldn't hear him. Then he ran.

He didn't chart a path, didn't try to find his way back to where Leafpool and that hideous Longclaw were waiting. He hadn't known he loved Sonya. He wasn't sure how that could be, how he could love a creature not of his own species. But he did. Perhaps in a different way than he loved Leafpool, for he would not die of this pain in his heart as he would die when Leafpool inevitably told him she wanted Longclaw, not him. But it was love all the same, love turned to ashes, to ice in his heart when he saw her embrace another, realized she didn't love him the way he'd thought, no, hoped, she had.

No one loved him. That wasn't exactly a shock to him now, but it still stung to think those words. Squirrelflight had Brambleclaw. Sonya had Palefur. Leafpool had Longclaw. Who did he have? No one. The only love who he could have had without pain and misunderstanding was dead. So he had Death, was that it? Was the glitter of Silverpelt, the promise of his lost love's embrace all he could cling to?

He had to admit that he was reluctant to leave the forest that way, by his own paw not of natural causes, but the idea was strangely appealing at the moment. A sort of cool logic seemed to grip him in the aftermath of so much pain, so much love. It all had turned to stone now. He wondered how to do it. How to destroy himself when his medicine cat love might save him when he didn't want to be saved. Didn't need to be saved.

He had no purpose now, no meaningful way of living. But what was the quickest way to end this pitiful existence? He was still running, and with this thought he went sprawling, snagged by a wayward branch.

Or perhaps by fate. For on that crooked stick hung berries. Beautiful, luscious, sparkling red berries. Deathberries. Perhaps there was a way to end it after all.

POV

Leafpool thought his yowl would never end. The thick, piercing howl drilled into her heart until she wondered that she didn't crumble into dust right there. She couldn't look up to see his face, couldn't stand to see that kind of pain, especially not when she was the cause. She was a medicine cat! She was supposed to _heal_, not hurt! Perhaps this was punishment, for abandoning her clan. She'd thought that her love would bring peace and healing and instead it brought torment and pain to both of the cats she'd given it to.

She didn't want to see his face, but her eyes lifted of their own accord. It was as awful as she'd feared, the tortured face of a broken cat. He stared at her, hoarse probably, his gaze full of anger, but even more so of pain. His jaws parted slightly, as though he was going to speak. But then he just turned and slunk away, his tail stirring the leaves that littered the forest floor. A broken cat.

She couldn't move right away. Her paws seemed frozen to the ground. She was an idiot. A complete and total idiot. She'd botched everything, down to the last drop.

Now Crowfeather was off somewhere with that strange wolf thing and Longclaw was crawling away, probably to try and kill himself, and she was here. In some un-named tiny clearing of an evil forest. For this forest had to be evil, the way it twisted her words, made others hear what she wasn't trying to say, making her hurt when all she wanted was to heal.

She wanted to curl up and die. Or at least to sob and wail and scream at the slowly appearing stars twinkling so far away in the twilit sky, coldly watching her. But the tears wouldn't come, and neither would the screams. The silence was somehow appropriate. Silence always marked ends. The end of a life, the end of a storm, the end of an illness, and now the end of a love.

She didn't know what to do, but somehow her paws knew the way. They hauled her up and lead her down the path, back towards Crowfeather, the only thing that kept her from slipping into the abyss.

POV

Sonya finally tore herself away from Palefur's nuzzling embrace. It was so good to be with her own kind after so long! Especially to be with _this_ wolf, this amazing, wonderful wolf who loved her. But she'd forgotten about Crowfeather!

Palefur looked at her curiously; she knew he wanted to bring her back to the pack, and then go with her to the wintering grounds where they could rest and hunt and raise their pups in the spring. "There's someone I want you to meet, before we go back to the pack."

Palefur's voice sent tingles down her spine, so deep it had gotten since she'd last seen him! "Lead away, my love."

She couldn't help but grin at him when he spoke of her that way... His love. She could be that, certainly, she _wanted _to be that! His love.

She picked her way up the slope, amazed that she'd made it down such a treacherous hill so quickly without breaking her neck. She hoped that Crowfeather would understand. He was probably just curled up, sleeping and waiting for her to get back.

She knew as soon as they crested the hill that something was wrong. He would have heard them; he should have come out to greet them. She strode to the bush she'd left him at quickly, panic rising in her mind, "Crowfeather?"

She pushed her head into his makeshift den. His scent was cold, hours cold. And stinging with anger, and hurt, and despair.

She pulled her head out, and pointed her nose to the rapidly rising moon, "CROWFEATHER!"

POV

Leafpool was moving faster her now, her paws filled with an awful sense of urgency. Something was wrong. She could feel it. The darkness of the night was swelling above her head, but the beauty of the stars, so cold and distant but brilliant, was lost on her.

She quickened her step even further, nearing an all-out run, the fastest she could get in the dark. Panic was rushing in, though logically there was no reason for it. She didn't care to stop and find a reason to rush. The dreadful, ominous feeling spurred her onwards.

POV

Crowfeather stared up at the moon, marveling at its cold, silvery beauty for the last time. He'd always thought the moon harsh, distant, but now it felt much friendlier than the hot and burning sun, so full of the passion and heat he now lacked.

The stars too, were his friends, bright and cheery with their small winking motions, peppering the sky with diamonds. There was blackness to the night, velvetiness that day lacked, that mystery and secrecy so singular to the dark hours before dawn.

The berries in his paw were smooth and cold, like miniature moons when the moonbeams lapped upon them. They beckoned and he obeyed. He took one last breath of the clean night air. And that sweet explosion that was death filled his senses.

**Ummm... it's getting a tad angsty, and a whole lot more mushy then I thought it would be. Tell me if it's getting to be too much to bear! Hopefully I'll be able to pare that back soon, but right now the cats are just not in positive positions. To say the least. Well, I hope it satisfied a little; I'll get back to Squirrelflight next! Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

He was floating. The air around him was soft and warm and full of a sparkling, silvery light that illuminated nothing, for there was nothing but the light itself to see.

He felt very nice… content, and comforted. He laughed when he exhaled and the silvery bits of light swirled with the stirring of his breath. Playfully he pawed at the light, pouncing like a kitten, and turning somersaults from his weightlessness.

Suddenly the silvery light he was chasing began to shift. It gathered into a single form, the face of a cat, a face like his own. He giggled at the oddity of it, but something niggled in the back of his mind…

The cat didn't look very happy, and when it spoke its voice was harsh and disapproving, "Crowfeather, I'm ashamed of you!"

Crowfeather? Was that his name? His mind seemed soft and sleepy; he didn't want to remember a name.

"How could you do this to Leafpool and me? How could you do this to yourself? I wanted you to _live _Crowfeather, as I never got the chance to live! I could wait for you, I _was_waiting for you! And now you're trying to come early, disrupting everything! I won't let you die now Crowfeather and neither will Leafpool. Leave this place between Starclan and forest and _live_!"

Leafpool. The name stung in his mind and he wriggled away from it. But the cat kept talking, bringing up things he didn't remember right now. By the end of its speech it was shouting. She. _She_was shouting. How did he know she was a she? She looked familiar…

Peering into the face a spark of remembrance became a flame and his mind lit on fire. He was burning! Pain, everywhere! Remembering consumed him, and he lived his life in fast forward, everything moving faster than he could truly keep up with, yet all so familiar that it stuck in his mind. He was Crowfeather.

With that last thought the cat faded and suddenly the air began changing. It grew cold and unfriendly and the light drained away and he was falling, screaming through sheer blackness, to land with a thump in his forest-bound body.

P.O.V.

Leafpool cried aloud as his body suddenly rattled with breath. She'd been so afraid, so very afraid. Every breath had seemed a lifetime.

Sonya rushed over as Crowfeather's body shook and he retched something out onto the grass. It was too dark to really see what it was, but she could smell its rotten stench. Deathberries.

Sonya wrinkled her nose, "That smells awful!"

Leafpool sighed, "That's because it's poisonous. He swallowed enough deathberries to kill a badger. I can't believe he's not dead now!"

Crowfeather stirred weakly and Leafpool gently shushed him, licking his forehead tenderly. "He has a very bad fever Sonya. I'm not sure he's going to live. I need herbs and water and a place where he can rest undisturbed. I don't know where anything grows here and this forest has plants I've never seen or smelled before. I don't know if I can save him."

Sonya growled, softly though, careful not to disturb him, "Stupid, stupid fur ball! What was he thinking Leafpool; tell me, what was going through his soft head?"

Leafpool sighed, "I can't be sure. But I have a notion. He thought I was going to pick Longclaw over him, of all the hare-brained ideas. And you had Palefur and the pack, so you didn't need him anymore. I think he felt like no one wanted him around now that we had new acquaintances…"

Sonya turned towards the bushes. Palefur had left a while ago to hunt. Now he returned, dragging a large rabbit. He smiled at Sonya in that sweetly wolfish way, tongue lolling out through his canine teeth, "Hey you two, I'm back. And I thought you might be hungry."

He shoved the rabbit at them. Leafpool took a last look at Crowfeather, who didn't seem anywhere near ready to wake up, and settled down to eat beside Sonya. She really liked the young she-wolf and her mate. They were so positive, even now, when they had every reason to be upset.

Palefur filled them in while they ate, "The pack said they'll wait until you're ready to leave, Sonya. It's not as if there's a shortage of prey, and we could use a rest after traveling for so long anyway."

Sonya looked up from her meal and smiled, "I knew they'd understand. I miss them so much! But I'm not leaving until Crowfeather's recovered and has had a good talking to!"

They finished eating and all three of them returned to Crowfeather's side. His breathing was light and rapid, and his nose was dry and hot. Leafpool shook her head, "I've never tried to save someone from deathberries before. Every cat knows to stay away from them!"

Sonya shook her head as well, "Of course Crowfeather would have to try something never done before. It's just like him to be that difficult!"

Leafpool laughed, but her eyes were full of sadness. Sonya went quiet and they lay down beside him to wait for dawn.

P.O.V.

Brambleclaw paced restlessly. Squirrelflight had been gone for way too long. And none of the Tribe members were willing to do anything about it!

"They are often gone much longer than this. Some do not return at all. Don't worry; there is a place for you in the Tribe either way." He'd heard that hundreds of times now, and it was always followed by a request that he help with some chore or another. He'd grudgingly allow himself to be dragged out hunting or patrolling or whatever and he'd be so busy that he'd forget about Squirrelflight until it was night and he was curling up to sleep.

But today he hadn't said anything and so they hadn't exhausted him with chores. And that meant that he couldn't sleep.

He dug his claws into the rock of the entry way and finally darted outside. He needed a walk to clear his head.

The night was cool and inviting. He could smell the coming of Leaf Bare not long off, despite the warm, sunny days that filled the forest right now. The moon shone down on him and all of silverpelt as well, its silvery light guiding his paws.

He wandered slowly, without any thought of direction, and before he knew it he'd gone beyond the Tribe boundaries. For a moment he paused, and thought about turning back, but he still wasn't tired enough to even think of sleep. So he kept going, through the thick, bushy undergrowth, un-trampled by other cats' paws.

He'd not been walking long when he smelled something on the wind. It smelled like cat… and also like dog!

Worried that he'd find a dog feasting on a cat's remains or at least pinning the cat up a tree, he picked up the pace, ready to help if he could.

He burst through some bushes into a clearing and scrambled for cover. He hadn't realized he was that close to them! Peering between leaves the oddest scene he'd ever encountered lay before him. A cat was actually sitting up, _talking_to two huge dogs with pricked ears and lean, muscled bodies!

Uncertain of what to do he peered closer and realized there was a second cat as well, lying on the ground, probably unconscious. The dogs must have injured him and the cat was trying to talk them out of hurting herself as well!

He made up his mind to charge.

P.O.V.

Leafpool was talking to Sonya and Palefur about whether or not they should move Crowfeather when she heard a rustling in the bushes. Curious, she turned just in time to see a cat come hurtling out into the clearing to attack Palefur!

Palefur yelped in pain as the cat's claws bit into his nose and the cat, still darting around, clawing Palefur, turned to her and yelled, "Take your friend and get out of here! I've got your back!"

Suddenly Leafpool realized what the scene must look like to an outsider. Oops. Palefur was having trouble just keeping the cat away from him; whoever the cat was he was a great fighter!

But Leafpool had to put an end to this. Just as she had seen Sonya do to Longclaw and Crowfeather's fight. Waiting for an opening, she tensed, then sprang in and tackled the strange cat to the ground.

Lying on top of him, she looked down into his face and suddenly his Thunderclan scent filled her nostrils. "Brambleclaw?"

His eyes widened with recognition, "Leafpool?"

She sat on his chest, stunned. "Um, Leafpool, can you get off me now?"

Leafpool blushed and stammered half-uttered apologies as she let Brambleclaw get up. It was amazing to see one of her clan mates after so long! He looked perfectly healthy, and even more muscled than she remembered. But he also had more scars. There was one right by his eye that scared her a little; that could have blinded him!

Brambleclaw seemed to be studying her in the same way. She blushed again, because she knew she'd gotten soft under Tom's care, and they hadn't been free long enough to recover their old fitness.

As if reading her mind Brambleclaw spoke, "Why do you smell like a _kittypet_, Leafpool?"

Leafpool felt her blush grow deeper, "I was injured in a trap… And a two-leg rescued me from it. He fixed my leg and then wouldn't let me leave until it was fully healed."

She extended her foreleg and Brambleclaw gasped; it was laced with scars. Leafpool hadn't thought it looked too bad as no one else had exclaimed, but then, Crowfeather had the original injury to compare it to and everyone in the shelter had been injured some way, so injuries just weren't shocking to them.

Leafpool realized she'd forgotten all about Crowfeather and she hurried back to check on him. His breathing was shallow, much too light. He'd been getting steadily worse all night. Now they were only a few hours from dawn and he was fading fast.

"Brambleclaw, where are you and Squirrelflight staying?" She had to ask; maybe there was some hope for a safe place to keep Crowfeather.

Brambleclaw had been staring in horror at Crowfeather, and his head jerked up in surprise when she asked, "How did you know I was with Squirrelflight?"

Leafpool sighed, "Because my dumb sister just _would _insist on coming to rescue me. That's what you are, right? A rescue party from Thunderclan?"

Brambleclaw nodded assent, "Yep. But before I tell anything I want explanations for these dog friends of yours."

It was Leafpool's turn to be surprised. She'd forgotten all about Sonya and Palefur, and how odd they'd seem to another cat. "Crowfeather was in the cage next to Sonya's in the place where the two-leg healed me. She was injured as well, and released on the same day as me and Crowfeather. And the other is her mate, Palefur. Her pack met up with her again, but she's friends with Crowfeather and wants to stay and make sure he's recovered before she goes anywhere."

Sonya and Palefur had nodded at their names and now both said hello, though Palefur still eyed Brambleclaw warily.

Brambleclaw had another question, "How did these dogs learn to speak _cat_?"

Sonya responded to that, "We are not Barkers! We do not have two-legs and we don't chase cats for fun! We are as wild and free as you are and had no idea we spoke cat until we talked with one of your kind!"

Brambleclaw laughed, "It's okay Sonya! Just calm down! No one doubts your wildness."

Sonya laughed too, "Sorry, it's just that I've been asked that question a lot recently."

Leafpool had turned back to Crowfeather again, "Brambleclaw, I really need to know where you're staying. Crowfeather isn't going to last much longer if I can't go find the proper herbs."

Brambleclaw cast a worried look towards Crowfeather, then smiled a small smile, "You're asking the right guy. Follow me."

So Crowfeather was lifted onto Sonya's back and they all followed Brambleclaw, a small procession winding through the forest.

**Sorry, but I just can't seem to find a good place to write about Squirrelflight. So next chapter I promise I'll put her in! Please R&R!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Squirrelflight opened her eyes. Her head was pounding, and her vision was a blurry mess. Spottedleaf's words echoed in her ears and she found that she had not forgotten anything. Her memory was intact. Now she just had to find out where she was and what was going on.

Her vision cleared and she realized she was still in Alexandria's pit of furs and skins, curled up comfortably. She heard pawsteps and Alexandria's evil face appeared. "Oh I'm so glad you're awake! Something terrible has happened!"

Alexandria's nasty, nasally voice echoed off the walls, dripping sweetness and insincerity.

Squirrelflight knew she had to play amnesia victim, "What? What's going on? Where am I? _Who_ am I?"

Alexandria bought the act. Squirrelflight betted no one had ever come through the ordeal with their memory intact before. "That's exactly what I'm talking about! You've had an accident! Cracked your poor head on the cave floor while you were tidying up my house! Your name is Flump and you're one of my loyal children! I can't bear to see any of you hurt! I had you brought to my chamber to heal… Do you feel better?"

Squirrelflight struggled to her feet, "My head's a little woozy but I think I'm okay… um, what did you say your name was?"

Alexandria smiled an evil smile, her eyes remaining as cold and hard as stones, "You can call me Empress Alexandria. I'm the owner of this mansion and as my child you keep the mansion running. Since you've so unfortunately lost your memory, I'll call one of the other children to help you relearn the way things are done here."

Alexandria turned to call a "child" and Squirrelflight glared at her back. Flump! Of all the names! She betted Alexandria gave every one of her "children" a nasty name just for spite. And Empress! Everyone knows you can't rule a cat! Empress indeed; she'd forgotten that from their last meeting! If these cats hadn't been poisoned and tricked by Alexandria the Horrible she'd probably be dead already!

The "Empress" walked away as one of those creepy white clone cats came scurrying up, head bowed, eyes averted. "I'm Noodle. And I've heard you're Flump. I always come to train new recruits. First rule: Obey Alexandria without question, always. Second rule: No speaking to the other children. Third rule: You deserve punishment so accept it willingly. Fourth rule: No harming, injuring, or otherwise damaging another child. Fifth rule: Never, ever touch Alexandria."

They were walking down one of the tunnels now, Squirrelflight disbelieving. How could any cat accept and honor that code? The tunnel turned and Noodle kept speaking, "Those are the rules. There are also a few other things. The tunnels are tricky to navigate, so you'll be following me until you get the hang of it. You'll be working in the hunting division, luckily. Be glad you aren't a miner. All children live in the same den, which I'm taking you to. As hunter you will bring all fat, good prey to Alexandria's storehouse, and any average or skinny prey to our pile. We all share food. I'll be splitting with you."

They entered a chamber now, Noodle spoke, "Home sweet home."

The cave was hideous. The rocky nests carved into the floor were coated in a thin layer of dirty, limp moss. There were holes in the ceiling everywhere, which let in light, but also freezing cave water and an icy breeze. The pile of fresh kill in the center was only a little bigger than the one for her entire clan at home, though by the nests there were at least fifty more cats living here than were in her clan.

Noodle let her take the sight in, and then lead her to a nest, "This is yours, right next to mine. We all eat and sleep the same hours, marked by the bell. It's almost evening meal time now. Tomorrow I'll help you find a hunting route. Today you get to relax, and after that it's all work."

Noodle went over to her nest and curled up, "I suggest you get some sleep. Here we work late and wake early. This will be one of very few chances for extra rest."

Squirrelflight obediently curled up in her nest, but after sleeping for three days straight she wasn't tired at all. The dripping water echoed as it hit the rock, annoying her so that she couldn't think of even napping.

Then suddenly the entire chamber was shaking, ringing with some awful pitch. Noodle was already on her feet, "That's the dinner bell. Hurry before all the good prey's gone!"

Noodle sprinted down to the fresh kill pile and grabbed a rabbit, hurrying back just as a flood of clone cats poured into the room, heading directly for the pile.

Noodle came back panting hard. She dropped a rabbit on the floor, "All the good prey goes to the earliest arrivals. Anyone late has to split a mouse with their partner, and the mice in that pile are toothpicks when they're eaten by one cat let alone two. We got lucky; rabbit is a treat. Normally I have to settle for magpie or some other feathery thing with more bones and fluff than meat."

They settled down to eat. The rabbit wasn't very large, but it tasted good and was filling enough to satisfy. Within moments the chamber had gone silent. Cats finished their food and then left. Noodle waved her tail towards a particularly large tom, "He's a good one to make friends with. He always gets rabbit. _Always._"

Squirrelflight thought she knew why. With muscles like those most "children" were probably afraid to take anything away from him. "He also gets the best sleeping places and whatever mate he wants. He's one of Alexandria's favorites. If you make trouble he'll report you."

The brawny tom disappeared down a tunnel. "What's his name?" Squirrelflight had to ask.

Noodle whispered this time, "Claw."

The name sent shivers down Squirrelflight's back. It sounded… evil. And he'd looked evil too. She'd seen his eyes, cold and piercing. Like Alexandria's.

Noodle was curling up in her nest again, going to sleep for the night. Squirrelflight followed her example and in minutes she was asleep.

P.O.V.

The kits were large now, and playful. Full of spunk for their young ages. Firestar never tired of watching them. Especially Splashkit.

The older she got the more she reminded him of Spottedleaf. It drove him half-mad, looking at her and seeing his old love. She was his favorite and she knew it. She drew closer to him when the other two kits drew closer to Sandstorm. She slept beside him whenever he spent a night in the nursery and she was forever begging him for rides on his back, or bites of meat from his fresh kill, and he always gave in. He loved her fiercely, as his kit… and also a little bit as Spottedleaf.

The other two kits, Sunkit, and Stripedkit, were jealous sometimes, he knew. Sunkit was always trying to impress him with his strength and pouncing abilities. And Stripedkit went quiet when he came around, and would shyly ask him for a story. He couldn't help it that Splashkit was his favorite. She was special! He felt terrible when he saw two of his kits off playing half-heartedly by themselves while Splashkit pounced on his tail and laughingly flung herself at his stomach. But he couldn't deny that he loved being around Splashkit. Everything about her sparkled, her bright personality, her sense of humor, her shining pelt…

Sandstorm had confronted him about it several times. And he tried to spend equal time with all his kits, he really did! But somehow Splashkit ended up seeing more of him anyway.

Sandstorm had even gone so far as to ask if he was in love with his own kit! He shook his head fiercely and shouted, "Of course not!" He didn't love her that way! But he did love her.

He also knew that he was too protective of her. If she took a tumble playing with her siblings and let out even the tiniest mew he sprinted to her side, frantic to make sure she wasn't injured. She complained that he was ruining their fun when he told her to rest for a bit, but she obeyed. She was good that way.

The clan was rebuilding well, and Firestar was no longer so busy trying to patrol borders and fix walls. Things happened smoothly. When a cat saw a problem he fixed it. That was all. In some ways that was good. In others that was bad, because it left him more time for his kits, and for doting on Splashkit.

He knew his clan mates were noticing the problem. Brightheart always made sure to play with Sunkit and Stripedkit when she visited the nursery… but not always Splashkit. Ashfur did the same and went so far as to ask Firestar if he could mentor Sunkit.

He felt embarrassed, for his behavior, especially because he knew he should be worrying about Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw, Leafpool, and Crowfeather right now. Their time limit was almost up. But he thought of Splashkit way more often than he thought of his other two daughters. Maybe it was because she was still only a kit, not old enough to defend herself like her two older sisters were. But a part of him knew that it was because of Spottedleaf. He shook his head. If they weren't back by the half moon he was sending a patrol out to find them. He hoped it wouldn't be too late.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Branches whipped his face and brambles snagged his fur but he ran on, oblivious to any pain except that which was in his heart. And that was plenty enough to occupy any cat.

How easily she had dropped him. A single meeting with her former mate and he was out of her head and heart as if they'd never met, never talked, never lived beside each other.

His paws ran without direction but gradually he became aware that they were taking him back towards his old home. He stopped when he realized that. He wasn't going back there. Not without Leafpool, not knowing that only pitying stares and the cold body of his past love awaited him there.

Instead Longclaw headed for the river. He wound up on a tall rock overlooking the water. How beautiful the sinuous body of water was when the silver moonlight cast its glow. No cat could have guessed that it had taken everything from him: his home, his family, his love, and nearly his life.

He curled his tail around his feet and sat on the smooth, cold stone, staring into the loose swirls of the water, and trying to discern from it the future, which had suddenly become so uncertain.

P.O.V.

Tigerlily shifted uncomfortably in her nest, and then finally gave up her battle with sleeplessness. She had spent enough nights awake to know when she could and could not fall asleep.

She stretched, and sighing left the den where he clan mates slept so peacefully, their breathing deep and even. The cold silver of the stars above her sent shivers down her back. From kithood she had been told stories of her wise, ancient ancestors who dwelled in the night sky, who watched over her and guided her paws on her walk through life. But lately she'd begun doubting their existence. Ever since she'd been pulled from the swollen torrent that the river had become her life had been... empty. Longclaw left a gaping hole in her heart, full of a pain that nothing could take away. And life without him was unbearable.

It was like she'd been given a gift, the most precious gift imaginable, only to have stolen away so suddenly that she couldn't get over the shock.

She felt awful for Longclaw's death. She had been there with him, she should have helped him, should have stayed with him… She could at least have died with him that way. Now she would live on without him, a lonely existence leading to an even lonelier death. For he was the only cat for her. Perhaps she would see him in the afterlife... but her recent doubts took away any comfort that thought had once held.

Frustrated and restless, she let her paws lead her out of camp. The night was soothing. The rustle of leaves shaking, the whisper of breeze through her fur, the crisp smells in the air, the sweet chuckle of the river… She shivered. The river was anything but sweet.

And yet, she felt drawn to it. She had an urge to see the thing that had stolen so much of her life and given nothing back. And so she turned uphill, towards the bluff overlooking a bend in the water.

P.O.V.

Sonya was tiring. It was still late at night and none of them had gotten any sleep. She kept saying she was fine but Leafpool had seen her stumble three times now.

Apparently Brambleclaw had noticed as well, because he stopped suddenly and turned back to her, "Sonya, let Palefur carry him now."

She opened her mouth to protest and Brambleclaw interrupted, "No arguing. I don't want another patient on our hands because you ran yourself into exhaustion. And Crowfeather won't even know who carried him, so it doesn't matter as long as he gets help fast."

Sonya grumbled, but she was clearly tired, as she didn't say anything else while Crowfeather was gently shifted onto Palefur's back.

It was still quite dark outside, but the night had lightened a little. It was good for the solemn parade of travelers, as they could see better and didn't have to move as slowly. And yet it was bad, because it meant that time was slipping away and Crowfeather's breathing was increasingly light and rough.

Brambleclaw scented with relief the edge of the Tribe's boundary. The Tribe of Sun Meets Stone would be a lovely surprise for Leafpool and the rest; he only hoped they didn't smell the markers they were about to cross.

Luck was in his favor. The wolves' nostrils were full of the nasty dying scents rolling off Crowfeather and Leafpool was too preoccupied with her mate; none of them smelled the boundary she'd just crossed. Exhaustion, he was sure, also played a part in their oblivion.

When they were nearly to the camp Brambleclaw halted the group again. "I'm going to run up and tell Squirrelflight that we're coming; that way she won't react the way I did to the wolves. You sit tight; I'll be back in a minute."

The others sank tiredly to ground. Leafpool immediately went about trying to make Crowfeather comfortable and licking his forehead, worrying at its heat. The other two watched her and made no move to follow him. Satisfied he took off at a run.

Eveningstar's den was easily visible, even at night. He knew the tom was a light sleeper, as he'd taken walks with Brambleclaw on some nights, when Brambleclaw had been too upset to sleep and Eveningstar was woken by his pacing. So it was no surprise to Brambleclaw when Eveningstar met him at the entrance to his den.

"What's wrong, Brambleclaw?" The tom's eyes radiated concern.

Breathlessly Brambleclaw poured the story out, Eveningstar listening carefully and never interrupting. Finally he was done and Eveningstar was getting to his feet, "I'll rouse the clan; we can have nests ready for your friends and Herbsight can prepare to tend the wounded."

Brambleclaw nodded, "Thank you Eveningstar. This means a lot to me."

Eveningstar just nodded. "Now get back to your friends! There is a lot to do tonight and they need to get here as soon as possible."

Brambleclaw took off through the camp, hurrying back for Leafpool and the others. Starclan must have guided his paws, he thought, for them to find so many friends at exactly the right time to get help.

P.O.V.

Alexandria purred softly in her den of soft, warm furs. Flump remembered nothing; soon she would be assimilated completely and she could plan for her next arrival. Her strategy was working better than she had ever dreamed it would; she would build an army like no cat had ever seen! And when it was ready all she had to was raise a paw and whole forests would be added to her kingdom, not just this pitiful Glow of white and bland things!

The cats just beyond her door were fools. They suspected nothing, and soon only the dead among them would be free! Perhaps she would even find a suitable mate among the outsiders. Claw was pleasing, but he was a brute, an idiot with muscles even if he was delightfully cruel. No, there were other, better fish in the sea.

Chuckling at her brilliance, her glorious evilness, she smiled. Her children were lucky; she was pleased. Perhaps she would even host a feast tomorrow, as she announced their new duties. She was tired of diamonds and jewels and the mines were nearly empty anyway. No she had her sights on a bigger prize now: the cats of the outside world. To imagine forest after forest, camp after camp full of her slaves! What work they could accomplish! She could choose from any prey she liked, have a den so elaborate and lush that it brought tears to her eyes just to imagine! And better, those cats would finally be put to work! They'd grown lazy and weak. They were kind to each other, they didn't fight and kill and claw the way they should. Well she would help them with that. Her slaves would be the finest killers ever seen!

She felt sleep creeping up on her, but it had not yet pounced. To pass the time before it claimed here she began coming up with names for the generations of slaves that would soon be hers to command. Delightfully nasty and dreadful names, names that were punishments in themselves. Flump had been a good one, but she was sure she could think of better. And so she slowly drifted to sleep, smiling at the awful names floating in her head.

P.O.V.

Time: Earlier that day.

Firestar glanced at the sun overhead. It was sun high. He bounded onto High Rock and gave the summons that brought every cat running to sit at the foot of the rock.

His clan mates settled about the rock, stretching luxuriously after basking in the heat of the late summer sun. Already he could feel colder weather approaching, and it worried him. There was nothing to indicate that his daughters would be returning soon.

When his clan quieted he spoke, "Nearly three moons ago, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw left on a mission to find our medicine cat and bring her home. Now we are approaching leaf bare and there is no sign of any of them. I told them that if they had not returned by now I would send a patrol after them and I intend to keep my word."

The cats shifted curiously, "I don't want to deprive our clan of warriors, however, so I am again sending only two cats, whom I'd trust with my own life and thus I trust with the lives of my daughters. Cloudtail, Thornclaw, I would like you to try following the scent trail out of Windclan and bringing my daughters home to me. It will be a difficult journey. I will not deny that. But I believe it is an important one. If you don't think you will be able to do this for me speak now so I can arrange accordingly."

Both cats remained silent, gazing solemnly up at their leader.

Firestar nodded, "Thank you. I know you won't let me down."

Cloudtail took the moment to speak, "Firestar I promise to return with your daughters or else with a very good explanation as to why they are not by my side."

Thornclaw nodded in agreement. Firestar hesitated a moment, gazing into their eyes, and then he spoke, his voice full of authority, "So be it."

** I hope you're not all disappointed by this chapter, after I took so long to update it! But I think it's good, although it'll probably be a while before I update again… Sorry in advance!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Longclaw gazed down at the rippling water below him. He thought of how the water had felt on his fur on that day: hard and angry, full of death and destruction. Now he thought it might be nice, cool, and smooth on his fur. He could let it take him as it had wanted to that day. How hard could it be to close his eyes and dive below the shining waves?

It was a bit of a drop from where he was now sitting, but he knew a path down one side. He could be at the river's edge in minutes. And then? Well, who knew?

He stood silently and walked down to the water, the grasses at its edge rustling in his fur. How vital the river was to all the plants around it, to all the animals that drank from it. He marveled at its power. It would be a fitting place to die, where he had lost all that had given him the will to live.

He placed a paw in the water. It was cool, but not frigid, warmed by a summer of sun. It chuckled around his intruding limb, laughing at him it seemed. It would be easy to succumb to such an entity.

He took a deep breath… and heard a twig snap behind him. He turned around without brushing a single blade of grass. A cat was climbing the bluff where he had sat only moments before. The soft night breeze was blowing the wrong direction for him to catch the cat's scent and it had settled just behind a clump of grasses clinging to the rock. He couldn't see who it was.

Did it matter? He wondered. Probably not. But he would have to be quiet now as he went about relieving his soul from its weak and earthly frame. He flicked an ear in annoyance. Maybe he could scare the stranger off… Yes, that could work.

He picked his way up the path he had just descended from. A single falling pebble could alert his target and he was in no mood to fight.

Creeping forward he cursed the wind; it was fiercer now and he fought for every step. The cat was still sitting there, looking at the river just as he had. Slowly he moved in, careful to stay out of the cat's peripheral vision. Finally he was close enough to spring. He tensed his muscles and launched himself through the air.

P.O.V

Cloudtail spat on the grass in front of him. "You'd think medicine cats could find a way to make traveling herbs taste better!"

Thornclaw shrugged, "They aren't that bad. If you're so bothered by it try and find some catmint. That will take away the taste!"

Cloudtail rolled his eyes, "Oh yes and then go all loopy and fall off a cliff! That's a great solution!"

Thornclaw sighed. Why did he agree to go on a trip with the most talkative cat in the universe? "You asked, remember?"

Cloudtail sighed. "We're supposed to be looking for a trail, aren't we?"

"I haven't seen anything that looks like a trail, have you?"

"Well, no… but, we're still supposed to look!"

Thornclaw glanced around. "Nope. Nothing." Then he breathed in. Suddenly he could smell something. It was faint, but there, lingering.

"Hey Cloudtail, I think I found it."

The scent was hanging underneath a bush, on the hills beyond Windclan, and Thornclaw could see the faint remains of a nest. "They must have stopped here the first night they left."

Cloudtail sniffed it carefully and jerked in surprise, "I think Leafpool and Crowfeather were here too!"

Thornclaw nodded, "Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight probably followed their trail as long as they could."

"Well, I don't think we should stop here. It's not dark and I'm not hungry."

Thornclaw nodded. "At least we know we're on the right track." And they headed off, towards the faint outlines of higher hills.

P.O.V.

Brambleclaw found the group right where he'd left them, looking rather worn and ready to collapse. "It won't be much longer now, come on."

They climbed to their feet like elders. Palefur got Crowfeather across his shoulders with Sonya's help and the two wolves padded side by side towards the camp, leaning on each other. Leafpool kept glancing anxiously up from behind them every few minutes, checking on Crowfeather, and overall the mood was a serious downer.

Finally they came to the rock hill. The entrance tunnel was hard to see unless you were right by it and Leafpool kept giving him strange looks as they climbed between boulders to the enormous mass of thorns and vines. They paused by the greenery as Brambleclaw looked for the path. It was only a thread between rocks, and he hoped he never had to find it in the dark again.

"Right this way! There's a tunnel that goes straight through!" He twitched his tail and they began moving again.

Leafpool came up to him, "Are you sure this is right? It's just a pile of rocks!"

"Don't worry, I told you, there's a tunnel through it."

Leafpool sighed and dropped back a little. It took Brambleclaw a moment to find the opening, shielded as it was by a few dropping vines, but then they were moving through, him in the lead.

They held each other's tail for guidance in the dark so he felt Leafpool stiffen before she cried in alarm, "Brambleclaw this tunnel smells like cats, lot's of them!"

"It's okay, I swear. Just trust me."

She kept walking, but he could feel her trembling with nerves. Then they finally strode into the camp and into the waiting arms of the entire Tribe.

P.O.V.

Squirrelflight woke to the same terrible ringing she'd heard the night before. Noodle pushed her to her feet, "Quick! We've got to grab something before its gone!"

Squirrelflight sprinted forward and snagged a rabbit from the pile, before running back to Noodle. Noodle blinked at her in amazement. "How did you learn to run so fast?"

Squirrelflight dropped the rabbit between their nests, "Its not that fast really, I'm not the fastest cat I've ever-"

She broke off. Claw was standing before them. He was smiling, but there was no joy in it, and she could see him sizing her up. Squirrelflight shivered.

"That was some impressive footwork. I'll be sure to tell Alexandria that you'd do best in the rabbit or squirrel sector."

"Um, thanks." She shifted awkwardly on her paws.

"The name's Claw. And I hear that yours is Flump. I'll see you around."

And just like that he was gone, back to his enormous nest by the fresh kill pile, where several of the largest white cats Squirrelflight had ever seen lingered.

"Come on, we'd better eat this before the next bell rings." Noodle said as she snatched bites of the rabbit.

Squirrelflight also tucked in. It didn't taste as good as it had the night before, but it was fresh kill and it wasn't a mouse.

They had just finished when the bell sounded again. Noodle scrambled to her feet. "Today you can come with me to the mouse sector. If Claw really talks to Alexandria you'll probably moved to the squirrel or rabbit sector. That's where most of his… associates work."

Squirrelflight followed Noodle down a series of paths, coated in sharp stones that made her wince as she walked. Noodle glanced back, "Don't worry, your pads will harden up in a week or so and the rocks won't hurt so much."

Squirrelflight hoped she wouldn't be around long enough to find that out. When the tunnel ended they, and several other cats that had come the same way ahead of them, spilled out into a lush green valley. The odd white light of Alexandria's domain shone brightly after the dim light of the caves and the grass was soft on her paws. Squirrelflight sighed in relief.

"Don't just stand there! We have to get to work! The lazy cats get taken to the mines. And you really don't want to see the mines." Noodle was already striding purposefully into the greenery, ears pricked on a mouse.

So Squirrelflight followed Noodle's example, staying a few feet from her as she pounced on mouse after mouse. There were thousands of them, fat and slow-moving, so that it almost bored her to catch them after a while.

Noodle came up to her only once, "Good job. The more you catch for Alexandria the more bedding she allows you at the next changing of nests."

Bile rose in Squirrelflight's throat. All of these mice would go to Alexandria. She was keeping the fat dictator alive! But if she didn't catch mice she'd be sent to the mines. And Noodle might get in trouble too- she was supposed to be Squirrelflight's mentor. So she only slowed her pace a little, hunting a bit more slowly. She still ended up with a pile twice the size of Noodle's.

Then another bell rang and it was off through another tunnel. She had a question, "Why don't any of the cats eat while they're hunting if they're so hungry?"

Noodle gasped, "Taking food from Alexandria would be treason! She can kill you for that! And besides, she's our mother. It's a point of honor."

Squirrelflight looked at Noodle, whose every rib was easily countable under her thin white coat. Few of the other cats in the tunnel were any better, and some were even worse.

"She's starving you, and you don't even care!"

"Quiet! Someone will report you!" Noodle sped up and Squirrelflight had to fight to stay within a tail length of her after that, making conversation impossible. How terrible, that they let her starve them and didn't even raise a paw against her. The wrongness of this place was smothering her. She had to get out and soon!

But for the moment all she could do was follow Noodle down another tunnel, this time to a very different place. The white light still shown brightly, but the greenery was anything but lush. A thin layer of crusty bracken grew on the rocky soil, and the mice she managed to find were as thin as the cats who were hunting them. It dawned on her that these were the mice that would go to the fresh kill pile, toothpicks for cats to share. She hunted her hardest after that, but these mice were quick, hungry, and fewer. Her pile was much smaller then before.

Finally it was evening again. The bell rang and they all rushed back to the fresh kill pile, carrying their mice in their mouths. Squirrelflight managed to get a starling from the pile that was fairly plump, and she and Noodle shared it silently. Squirrelflight realized she should feel lucky- the pair of cats next to them were sharing one of the mice, and it was hardly enough for two bites.

She hated this place. She hated the gloom of this cave and the oppressive feeling of the air. She hated the fright of the cats around her and the worthless fresh kill they had to eat. And, most of all, she hated Alexandria.

** Well, finally, huh? It probably took me way too long to write this, but I hope you'll keep reading anyway, you seem to be a faithful audience. Enjoy, I wrote this for you!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Squirrelflight didn't want to wake when the bell rang. She wanted to curl into a tighter ball and ignore the world. So she didn't move.

She heard Noodle get up and start sprinting to the fresh kill pile. That gave her a small twinge of guilt. Noodle wasn't a fast runner and she had tiny energy reserves compared to Squirrelflight, who had eaten a feast just a few days before…

She sighed softly and lifted her head. The faster cats were already bending over to eat. Noodle was only a few feet from the pile, heading back with a vole. It was tiny. Maybe she would just let Noodle eat it. She wasn't that hungry anyway… Her stomach rumbled as if to politely disagree.

Then she heard paw steps behind her. She jumped to her feet, spinning to face the approaching cat.

It was Claw. He grinned at her and his canines gleamed even in the dim light. She shuddered but met his gaze. "What do you want Claw?"

He twitched his tail and a cat Squirrelflight had never met came up from behind him, a fat rabbit in his mouth, almost twitching it was so fresh. Her mouth watered in spite of herself.

"I was just bringing you a… housewarming present. Of sorts." Claw's crony laid the rabbit at her paws.

"Thank you." She didn't try to hide the frost that bloomed on her words.

His smile didn't waver for a moment. "You're most welcome. And if you'd ever like to join me…"

His offer hung in the air as he slowly turned and swaggered away, tail flicking to his crony, who hurried to catch up. She despised that arrogant cat.

Noodle arrived just as Squirrelflight turned around. She was panting and it made her bony ribs stand out more than ever. Her eyes practically fell out of their sockets at the sight of the rabbit.

"He gave you a _gift_," she whispered, still staring at the fresh kill.

"He can keep his gift. I'm never going to suck up to him, his idiot groupies, _or_ Alexandria." Her claws slid out into the rock beneath her with a soft rasp.

Noodle turned to stare at her. "Are you crazy? Claw and his group get whatever they want! They ignore curfew, they have unlimited bedding, they don't even have to hunt every day! And if you refuse his offer… Just don't refuse. For me. Please!"

"They're a bunch of thugs." Squirrelflight sniffed the rabbit. "Well, are you going to eat or what?"

Noodle gave her a look, sighed, glanced nervously after Claw, and then fell to eating. The rabbit was delicious. The vole Noodle tucked securely beneath her bedding to "enjoy" later. Then they both headed to the hunt.

P.O.V.

Longclaw landed squarely on his target's back, his claws sinking deep into a layer of surprisingly thick fur. The cat collapsed beneath his sudden weight, but then threw itself over, crushing Longclaw against the rock. Pain shot up his left side, but it was superficial; it bit into him like a whip, driving his anger into energy.

Hissing, he found purchase with his back legs and shoved the cat forward, dangerously near the cliff. He jumped easily back to his feet, his face twisting into a menacing snarl.

The other cat had come to a stop a few narrow feet from the edge and struggled to rise. He calculated the fall, then realized he was planning to die anyway. He would die nobly now; locked in battle with an unfamiliar cat. A warrior's death. He smiled. And then he sprang.

P.O.V.

Tigerlily had gasped in pain under the weight of this unknown attacker and filled with triumph as she pinned him to the rock. But those emotions paled as she turned from the cliff's edge to see him flying towards her, ready to send them both to their deaths when recognition was just beginning to flash across his face.

Love would be the death of her. She smiled faintly as he hurtled into her side. She felt his claws dig into her skin, somehow tight without pain. He was holding her when he should let go- he could have kept himself from falling even if it was too late to pull her back. But he pressed close, his scent making her so alive that she didn't care that they were hurtling towards fate. The wind whipped around them, the rocks flung spears into the sky, and the waves gnashed night-black teeth below, but all she could see was him. And with a tiny, half-formed purr, she sank below the waves.

P.O.V.

Squirrelflight didn't feel like hunting either. She was surprised by this streak within her, a piece of her that didn't really care that she was putting herself in danger, a piece that would rather find death here than obey the mouse-brained rules for another minute.

She played with blades of grass in Alexandria's forest, let mice slip between her paws, and only pretended to hunt when other cats happened to pass by, which wasn't often. Her pile was only two mice larger than Noodle's. Noodle shot her a disbelieving look when they stacked the fresh kill, but didn't say anything.

It wasn't until the second hunt that Squirrelflight really snapped. Her paws were sore, she was tired, and she was sick of being told what to do. She found a patch of thin grass, sat down and simply refused to move. Noodle tried to coax her into hunting without attracting attention. Squirrelflight ignored her. Then another cat came up and quietly warned her, then another. Whispers began to slither from cat to cat, until the rocky mouse hunting hole was gently buzzing with surprise.

That was when Claw stepped in. Squirrelflight wasn't sure how he'd been alerted but she grinned when he appeared at the entrance.

Claw stopped a few feet from her. "Where are your mice?"

"I don't have any." She winked playfully and twitched her tail at him.

"Why aren't you hunting?" She heard his patience wearing thin… and they were only two questions in!

"Don't feel like it. Don't you have something better to do around here?" The on-looking cats, who were still half-pretending to hunt while intently watching the scene, gasped.

Claw bristled and drew himself up. He really _was_ a large cat. "By the authority of Alexandria I order you to follow me."

Squirrelflight laughed. She felt like there was a fire burning in her chest. She was invincible! She suddenly realized that she could smell another cat on the breeze… Spottedleaf! "You have no power over me."

He hissed and his claws sang across the stone. "_What _did you say?"

"You heard me, you overfed oaf! You're only in charge because the others have been too frightened to challenge you! Well I'm not afraid. You're probably slower than a turtle! I could outrun you any day, and outfight you too!" The words surprised even her, but she just went with it; Starclan had lead her here, to rescue these cats. She would succeed or she would face death calmly; at this point she was past caring which ending would be hers, and was only glad that the waiting was over.

Claw threw his enormous bulk towards her, but she was gone before he'd crossed half the distance he needed to touch her. She sprinted up behind him, wishing she had time to sing at the clear cleanness of the air that filled her lungs and the delight that carried her effortlessly.

"You aren't so tough without your cronies!" She ducked in and swatted him across his hind legs. He yowled and she could tell he'd never fought before; silence was a more effective medium for fury.

He tried to turn around and smash her into the ground and she slid beneath his paw to rake her claws across his face. His howl was piercing.

By the time he'd reopened his eyes she was beneath him. She got on her back and thrust her legs into her stomach with all her strength. The wind went out of him in a loud yelp and he stumbled backward. She avoided his paws and put her last reserves into one swift blow to his head. Claw sank to the ground, out cold.

She smiled and swept dust into his face with her back paws, like she had just made dirt. Then she turned to her speechless audience. "What are you waiting for? You want him to wake up and find you here and me gone?"

Noodle shivered. The others were so bewildered they just stared. Squirrelflight sighed. "Come on you lot, you're free! And bring that fresh kill with you!"

Then she turned and headed up the least steep side of the mouse hunting hole, Noodle began spreading her message to the cats below as they slowly trickled after her, tasting freedom for the first time since they had met Alexandria.

** Wow, I'm so sorry that it's been June since the last update! Time just got away I suppose… And I'll have you know that I wrote this because someone reminded me that there are still people out there reading this, and hating my endless procrastination! So keep reading and reviewing please- I will try my hardest to be more prompt!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

All she could do was stare. She stared at the enormous cavern they'd entered, at the swarming mass of curious cats filling the cavern, and most of all at Brambleclaw, who'd lead them here. This place was… it was like… home.

This was a clan, a peaceful one by the lack of scars and the bulging bellies. She watched two chubby kits take turns peeking out from behind their mother's legs and her heart throbbed. Home.

There was a cat standing at the head of the crowd and she immediately placed him as the leader of the clan. He smiled. His eyes reminded her of her father's- warm and wise. "I've been saying this an awful lot lately: Welcome to the Tribe of Sun meets Stone. I am Eveningstar, the leader of this fine group of cats. We've heard you have a friend who's in a bit of trouble…"

Leafpool spun around. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten Crowfeather, even for a moment. He was on the ground now, his fur a lacking its usual luster, his eyes caked shut, every breath rattling. She prayed that they weren't too late.

She spoke over her shoulder to Eveningstar, unable to take her eyes off Crowfeather's limp form again. "It's Crowfeather. He tried to kill himself. Deathberries. It… it was my fault."

Eveningstar barely caught the whispers. "Herbsight has readied her den for him. If you could help us move him…"

"Of course."

Palefur ended up picking him up again- even sickened and skinny Crowfeather was a pretty large cat. The medicine cat den was only a short walk away, but the entrance was narrow and covered in hanging moss. Palefur barely made it to the wider cavern further in.

Starlight came in from somewhere high above and the feel of the floor made Leafpool sure that hundreds, maybe thousands of cats had walked this rock before. There was a large, cushy nest in the center where they laid Crowfeather. A steady drip told her that there was fresh water nearby and she could smell familiar herbs around the edges. The scent stung a little, not her nose but her memory. She buried her nose in Crowfeather's fur instead.

Herbsight must have seen her glancing toward the herb supply. "You can smell them?"

She nodded, wondering what the old cat was thinking. She didn't volunteer any information and Herbsight didn't say anything else. The old cat went over to her herbs to prepare something for Crowfeather and Palefur and Sonya left with Brambleclaw.

Eveningstar stayed. She decided that she liked him- he knew she didn't want to be alone.

He spoke softly, "He's your mate, isn't he?"

She nodded.

"Brambleclaw didn't say, but it's rather obvious. What were you doing out here anyway? Why did he do this to himself?"

She sighed. There were so many answers she could give to that question. She wondered if they'd done the right thing in leaving at all. So far the trip had brought her little happiness or contentment, though much excitement and good company. "It's a long story."

Eveningstar met her gaze, "We have at least until sun up."

She smiled. And the story began.

P.O.V.

Squirrelflight slowed her pace, but soon the closest of her followers was ten tail-lengths behind her and falling fast. The cats weren't used to traveling great distances at any speed and they were extremely underfed.

She sighed and turned around. The cats trickled to a stop before her. They were all quiet, panting.

"I know you're tired. I know you're not used to traveling anywhere near this far. But I need you to keep walking, just until we reach that cave." She gestured with her tail toward a crack in the rock. It didn't look wide enough to host the thirty-five cats with her but she had a feeling it was like Herbsight's den- narrow at the entrance, wider further on.

If the other cats remarked on the narrow entrance they didn't voice their opinions aloud. They made their way toward it, painfully slow. Squirrelflight kept checking behind them but no search party came. Alexandra was plotting something. She could feel it.

They made it to the cave and spilled inside- it was big enough, just like she'd thought. She wondered if that was Spottedleaf's doing or if all the caves in this kind of rock were just like that.

The cats all lay down as soon as they'd piled the fresh kill in the front and it was clear that they were exhausted, though Squirrelflight felt fine. She went back outside while they settled in and she carefully covered their tracks many tail-lengths back, far enough that if someone followed the trail it would disappear at a place where they couldn't see the cave. She also gathered some of the odd white bushy plants growing on the hills and filled in the cave entrance a little, enough that it was no longer so easy to see at a distance.

When she was satisfied she returned to the cave. Every cat was asleep. Some sentries they'd make! They were all huddled around the entrance to the cave and she had a feeling that they hadn't gone any deeper in than they'd had to. But she was curious- she could hear a sort of musical sound emanating from deeper in.

The white cats would be fine for a moment. Head up and tail twitching she strode deeper into the cave.

P.O.V.

Alexandra glared at Claw and he shrank away from her gaze. She spat and he shrank further, practically melting into the rock. Venom dripped from her words. "What do you mean they escaped?"

He shivered. How could any cat make words cold enough that you could feel them sucking the warmth from you? "I… they… that new cat… Flump! She rebelled! Said she didn't want to hunt and then she attacked me and the others did nothing!" He looked into eyes that were the opposite of placated. "Please don't kill me." He whispered that part.

He'd seen her do it to other cats and she always killed them slow and painful. She'd killed his mate that way. He winced at the memory. Alexandra had told him that love was a flaw, that she was helping him by killing her, making him stronger. He hadn't been able to stop her. He had to believe that what she'd said was true.

She lashed out and he didn't stop her claws from slicing through his ear. He couldn't prevent a small whimper from escaping.

Alexandra turned and started pacing. Claw didn't dare a sigh of relief, but he knew that her mind had turned back to pursuing the escapees. He licked his paw and dabbed at the three new holes in his ear. The scars wouldn't be too bad… intimidating maybe?

"Bring me the rock."

She didn't even turn to look as he scuttled to the back corner of her den and began pushing the enormous boulder into the center of the room. It weighed more than three cats put together and Claw was the only one of her slaves who could move it alone. He was panting slightly by the time he was done. His head still ached from the blow Flump had given him and his ear stung. He wanted to go back to his nest and fall asleep. But one glance at Alexandra told him that that was out of the question.

She prowled around the rock and then suddenly reached up and clawed it at the very top. There was a terrible shrieking noise and Claw realized that she'd never let him stay for this part before. He didn't want to stay now. But if he left without being dismissed… He picked a corner far from the rock and sat.

The rock was glowing green and hissing. Then something started moving inside it! It looked like a cat. A cat even more frightening than Alexandra. It was a tom whose muscled bulged beneath his dark stripes and whose eyes pierced the cloudy surface of the rock like daggers. Claw felt the fur on his back stand up.

Alexandra dipped her head. Actually gave the cat respect! Envy made Claw want to claw the tom's smirking eyes out. She'd never done that for him! Would probably never do that for him, even after all he'd done for her! But he didn't move. He wasn't strong enough to break rock, and even if he was… the tom looked like a good fighter. He was suddenly glad that the tom was trapped in the rock.

"Greetings, Tigerstar."

Tigerstar? The star part rang a bell in his mind… Hadn't he known a cat with a name ending the same way? But then the tom spoke and the half-memory fled.

"Hello again, Alexandra. What do you need this time?"

His tone was patronizing, but Alexandra didn't look surprised or upset by it. In fact she was smiling… the way Claw did when he wanted a favor from her! His master had a master… Tigerstar must be the brains behind the empire! Maybe Alexandra didn't deserve to be his master. He would not be the servant of a servant! The thought of getting rid of her made him smile. She wasn't as strong as him. She used potions to frighten cats and make them sick but he knew about that. He was the muscle behind her glare, her enforcer. She took that for granted. He let his claws rake the rock. She would pay and he would be free. But first he would listen in. He needed a plan.

"Some of the cats have become… disobedient-"

"They've escaped, haven't they? I told you not to rely so heavily on your potions." He was actually admonishing Alexandra! Some tom Claw'd been, letting her run all over him… this conversation was going to be very enlightening, Claw could already tell.

Alexandra did look a little annoyed now though. "Yes, well things happen. I need you to help me get them back."

"Why?"

Oh that had done it. Claw watched the very tip of Alexandra's tail twitch, the way it did when she was angry. "Why? Because I need them! This cannot be tolerated!"

Tigerstar examined his paws, clearly bored, making Alexandra's tail twitch a little faster. "You have plenty of slaves. I've done what I promised. Tell the others that you took care of those cats. Let the idiot slaves imply that you've killed or imprisoned them. They won't question you."

That was a smart idea actually. Claw was almost impressed. There would be fewer mouths to feed- the other slaves would see it that way. He saw it that way himself. Alexandra was still angry, but she reminded Claw more of a frustrated kit than a furious ruler. Especially when he compared her to Tigerstar's strong, demanding presence.

"Those were good slaves! I want them back!"

Tigerstar stretched slowly and Alexandra practically danced with anger. "Call on me again when you have something serious to report." The rock stopped glowing and went blank.

Alexandra spun around and found Claw sitting in the corner. He was good enough at lying that she couldn't see him hiding a smile. "You! Get over here!"

He came over slower than he normally would have, but she was too angry to notice the slight shift in speed. She continued pacing while she spoke. "Prepare the cats for a speech. I will handle this the right way!"

"Of course, your majesty." He dipped his head, silently regretting the need to fake his respect.

As he left her chambers he smiled broadly, frightening two cats cleaning in the hall. He had plans for Alexandra all right. And they didn't include a speech in front of a crowd of cats. No, his plans were far better than that.

P.O.V.

Tigerlily could feel the water gushing into her lungs as she tried to take a breath and met the river, not the night sky. She'd been expecting that but it still came as a shock, all the cold water and froth and confusion. But, to her surprise, she could still feel Longclaw holding her, warm against her side even through the water.

She tried to push to the surface but swimming was nothing like walking. She managed to get her head up once and grab a breath of still too-watery air, but then she was plunging back under again, into a sea of green and brown and cold and wet.

She could feel Longclaw tugging at her but she didn't have the strength to respond. One of her legs twitched slowly, churning the water but not going anywhere. She felt oddly peaceful and tired. Longclaw was beside her; it was safe to go to sleep. She ceased to feel the water pounding at her from all sides as blackness replaced vision and fuzzy dreams, reality.

**So, how was it? It's coming to a head folks- I hope you're prepared! What will Claw do? (Are his thoughts realistic by the way? Or is he too suddenly smart?) And what will happen to Tigerlily and Longclaw? Or to Crowfeather for that matter… I'm sure you're all wondering! Tune in next time to find out! **


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The sound grew louder and sweeter as she drew closer to the back of the cave. It was a tinkling, chuckling sort of noise, quick and upbeat and it made her paws itch to race ahead. But she proceeded carefully. It could be a trap. The cave could lead back to Alexandria. And she couldn't take that chance and go in like a kit to a fox's den.

Suddenly Squirrelflight could smell running water. But this did not sound like an ordinary river... The path she followed got narrower and darker. The rocky walls were slick with moss and trickling water. She slipped a few times as the path began to descend and got even wetter. She disliked the dampness. If she had been Riverclan perhaps she would have liked it, it would have felt like home. But her home was in the trees with dry leaves on the ground and rocks and brambles to shield them from the rain and this just made her uncomfortable.

The sound grew steadily in volume until finally she turned a corner and unexpected light shone up at her. The floor was now coated in a pale green glowing moss that cast everything in an odd light. It had a slightly rough feel and was much easier to walk on then slick rock, but she hardly noticed that because she was busy staring at the river before her.

It was like any other river in that it was all fresh water plunging and rushing onward in a noisy fashion. But it was unlike any she'd ever seen. It ran over giant white crystals that sprouted everywhere inside the cave. They were beautiful; milky white spears pointing up toward the sky and hanging down from the ceiling and cropping up like mushrooms everywhere she looked. And they appeared to be the source of the musical noise- there was a small waterfall and where the water dropped to hit the crystals the sound rang out, clean and clear.

It was a strange cavern, the shining moss, the giant crystals poking out of dark black rock, and the river cutting a gorge through it all. But it was beautiful. She wondered if she should go get the others and tell them to come get a drink, but the path continued on and she wanted to find the end of it.

So she kept walking, easily at first, on the moss, but then the moss began to shrivel up at the edge of the cavern and then died off altogether, leaving her back on the slick rock and in the dark. Luckily the crystals seemed to have a luminescence of their own, a clean white light distorted by the water- for now the walls and ceiling were solid rock again and only the gorge had reached down to unearth the crystals. The "music" faded as she walked on and a different light grew up ahead.

She picked up her pace and then suddenly she heard the murmur of cat voices. She froze. From this distance she couldn't tell who was speaking or what they were saying. She had to get closer. Softly she moved forward, digging her claws into the rock; a slip now could mean her death.

Finally she came up behind a large, pitted boulder. The voices were much clearer and as she hid behind the rock she quickly realized that they were not familiar and that some were… laughing! There was no way it was Alexandria.

She peeked out behind the rock and looked down on the Field of Peace. She could hardly believe it. They were so close! They could escape and Alexandria would never know what happened! She wanted to roll around with glee, and probably would have if she hadn't been in a damp tunnel. Instead she turned around and headed back toward the cave, walking as quickly as she dared on the slimy rock.

Finally she re-entered the crystal cavern and then found her way back to the main cave where she'd left the others. She expected them to be awake by now, she had been gone quite a while, but when she arrived all she found was a cave full of softly breathing, sleeping cats.

She sighed and was just stepping forward into the cave when suddenly something touched her back. She spun around hissing and found… Noodle.

Noodle slowly got out of the crouch she'd dropped into, looking apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just going to tell you that they're exhausted. The escape was a lot for us to handle… I don't think we can go anywhere just now."

Squirrelflight lowered her fur and nodded. "I can see that. But I have good news- the cave leads back to the outside! We can escape!"

Noodle smiled and then suddenly frowned. "But what's out there? What will we do?"

Squirrelflight blinked. It had never occurred to her to plan their re-entrance into the outside. She'd been thinking of Brambleclaw and of continuing to search for her sister. What _would _these cats do? Would the Tribe be able to handle this many new cats? They had lots of room, but she wasn't sure they had enough for fifty adult cats, unused to the outside world…

"We'll come to that when we get there. Right now just let them rest. Will you make sure they're okay?"

"Why, where will you be?"

"I'm going back to Alexandria's caves."

Noodle blinked. "What? That's insane! She'll kill you! And she'll kill us! And-"

Squirrelflight cut her off, "She will not do any of that. I'm going to get the rest of the innocent cats out of there. I'm not sure how yet, but I will. I'm not leaving them there with her, that's for sure. I'll be the only one at risk if I go back. I would never tell her where you are and if I'm not back by next sun-high head toward the back caves without me. You'll come to a large cave full of cats if you just keep following the path. Don't be afraid of them. Just ask them to guide you to the Tribe of Sun-meets-stone, okay?"

"You'll be back though, right? I won't have to do this alone?" Noodle looked up at her. Squirrelflight had never realized how truly tiny she was, a delicate little white furball with large, beautiful eyes. More like a kit than a full grown warrior. She was stronger than she looked, but still Squirrelflight shrank from the idea of her leading this group of cats alone. And she wanted to give Noodle hope, not worry.

"Of course. I'll be back."

Suddenly Noodle came forward and rubbed her ear on Squirrelflight's shoulder. "Be safe, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. I'll see you soon, Noodle." And then they separated. Squirrelflight headed toward the front of the cave, Noodle's bright green eyes the only pair watching her disappear.

P.O.V.

Longclaw gasped and suddenly coughed, water lurching out of his lungs and onto the mud before him in a small puddle. He took a deep breath in and another one out as his lungs cleared and his eyes slowly blinked open.

He was lying in mud. He could feel it slowly drying into his fur, caked on, and when he stumbled to his feet his tail tried to stick to the mud and nearly pulled him back down on his stomach again. His vision was bit blurry and there was this loud rushing sound in his ears.

He coughed again and shook his head and a few drops of water came out of his ear fur, but still the sound remained. Then he blinked and the world finally came back into focus. He was by a river, the water smoothly flowing past the bank he had been lying on. It was dark, still night, and cool.

And then he looked up and saw a bluff upriver and suddenly the rest of the night came rushing back. Tigerlily! He remembered his claws in her fur, her scent surrounding him even as they plunged into the river, his paws dragging them both to the surface when she went limp between them and his teeth biting into the fur of her neck to keep her from drowning… And then there was blackness and he'd woken here. He turned around to find her and the mud spun before him. The movement made him so dizzy he had to close his eyes.

"Tigerlily." He croaked. He'd meant to shout but his throat was raw from too much water and not enough air.

Then he realized that he could smell her. Faint, but lingering, somewhere close. He opened his eyes again and this time moved slowly, carefully. It still made him dizzy, but the sensation was slowly leaving. There were paw prints in the mud! Some were his, but there were other smaller ones too. They had to be Tiger lily's!

But then where was she? He coughed again. He was exhausted and covered in mud and his stomach wanted him to retch again, although he knew it was empty. He was in no shape to be a search party. But he couldn't do anything other than search, as long as he had strength to walk. Because he would not lose her again.

If she had made it to shore she wouldn't have gone back toward the river so he turned the opposite way and found that the tracks headed away from it, into the brush. So far so good. Of course once he reached the brush her tracks were invisible in the hard-packed soil.

"Tigerlily!" His voice was a little stronger this time but not much. His whole body ached and he realized he was shaking slightly. He took a step forward and all the blood rushed to his head. He suddenly felt very hot and he realized how dry his mouth was.

He shook his head, trying to clear it, but the shaking made his vision swim and his ears ache. He stumbled forward again, but he was swaying back and forth now and he his shoulder hit a bush and he collapsed.

'You have to get up,' he told himself, but his body wouldn't obey. His breathing was shallow and raspy and it hurt his throat. He fell back on his side, lay still for a moment, and then tried to stand. His front legs twitched feebly and his back legs didn't move at all. He was so tired…

"Tigerlily." He whispered, even quieter than the first time he'd tried to say her name. And then his eyelids fell shut and against his will he entered the darkness of his unconscious.

P.O.V.

Claw smiled, for no other reason than that he was happy. Power. It was what he had missed his entire life. Sure he'd had power over the other slaves, but not the way Alexandria had. They'd feared her, respected her, never muttered against her the way they did against him. But that would change. A lot would change.

He had spread the word of the meeting and the slaves were all in Alexandria's auditory chamber now, an enormous circular cave where sounds bounced off the walls and echoed twice as loudly as was normal. It was where she gave all her speeches, from a narrow cliff jutted out into the cave, standing above the crowd of cats on the floor in a clear visual demonstration of her power over them. But she wouldn't be standing there today. Not that she knew that; only Claw and ten of his most trusted fellow guards were privy to that secret.

She was getting ready in her room right now, grooming, putting on a ridiculous amount of gemstones, carefully fastening them to her fur with a sap that came off in water and was specially collected for her by a team of slaves adept at climbing the tall white trees in Alexandria's forest. Such a waste. He wouldn't spend his time collecting worthless shiny stones when he was emperor. No, he had better things to do than that.

"Are you ready Claw?" Her voice grated on his ears.

His claws scratched the rock, "Yes, your majesty."

He and two of his guards were waiting outside her chambers to accompany her to the speech. His other eight guards were keeping the waiting cats in the auditory chamber in line. He would walk behind Alexandria on the way to her speaking cliff, the other two would walk in front, in theory to protect her from any attackers, in reality it was to show off her strength- no one had ever tried attacking her as far as Claw knew.

Finally she emerged, glittering with gems, this time green ones, which made her appear to be covered in eyes. Cat eyes were always green. He twitched his whiskers in disgust.

She didn't notice, she was muttering something under her breath, probably her speech. She fell behind his two guards automatically and they entered the tunnels. They were decent-sized tunnels, two cats wide generally and three cats tall. But on the way to speaking cliff there was a section of tunnel older than the rest. It was only one cat wide and two tall. He knew that Alexandria disliked it, as did most cats- it was cramped and confining and could be dangerous if it were ever blocked. But Claw had always found it peaceful; fewer cats walked it and when he wanted to be alone he walked there.

So it was a fitting place for an ambush. Alexandria didn't notice the guards in front sliding their decorative collars off. She didn't notice Claw drawing closer and closer behind her as the tunnel narrowed. And she didn't notice the small cough Claw gave in signal as the tunnel reached its narrowest point.

The two guards at the front suddenly spun around. Alexandria went to hiss something at them, but Claw was already pouncing onto her back. She yowled and tried to flip him off, but she was soft and flabby and he was heavy and muscular. She writhed, howling empty threats as he crushed her to the floor.

His two guards hurried over and slipped one collar over thrashing paws, yanking all four together. Unable to use her paws, all Alexandria could do was wriggle slightly as the other collar was shoved between her teeth and tightened behind her head, an effective gag.

The tunnel went quiet then, except for Claw's heavy breathing. It had been even easier than he'd thought it would be, capturing her. He reached down and grabbed a mouthful of her neck fur. The other two guards followed as he dragged her back the way they'd come.

They brought her to the dungeons. There were no other cats in it at the moment and it was quiet, damp, and cold. Claw deposited her in the nastiest cavern down there, one half full of stagnant, dirty water and the other half coated in a nasty, slippery moss.

He could hear faint muffled yowls as he dropped her on the moss. He smiled. "I should have done this moons ago. You'll be nice and safe down here, Alexandria, don't worry."

Her eyes widened with anger and disbelief and she wiggled frantically. But the collars were made of sturdy stuff. They would hold. Claw stepped out of Alexandria's new home and rolled the waiting boulder in front of its only entrance. The caverns were solid rock and the only light came in through cracks in the ceiling, too high for a cat to climb, being as slick as it was. So even if Alexandria managed to chew through her gag and then through the binding on her paws, she wouldn't be able to do anything but yowl and claw at the lifeless stone.

His two guards grinned at him as he turned around. "Good work," he rumbled, actually purring for the first time since his mate had died. "Now let's get back to the surface. I have a speech to make."

**Well, this is a surprise, right? I'm actually updating again! Amazing! I'm sorry that I'm so unreliable like this, you do deserve better. But this is the best I can do at the moment. Also it would be helpful to know which perspectives you like best/which ones you think I should update on next… As always, I really appreciate the reviews! And thank you for continuing to read even when I'm being mouse-brained and not updating! :)  
**


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